LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Deemed        JAN      8-1898 '89 

Accessions  No.  HCt  "Si  Z    .Class  No.    3  0  £>. 


THE  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICE 


EARLY  AND  INFANT  SCHOOL 
EDUCATION. 


BY 

JAMES    CURR1E,  A.M., 

PRINCIPAL    OF    THE    CHURCH    OF    SCOTLAND    TRAINING    COLLEGIC,    EDINBURGH,' 

AUTHOR  OF  "  COMMON-SCHOOL  EDUCATION,"  "  ELEMENTS  OF 

MUSICAL  ANALYSIS,"  "  I'KACTICAL  ARITHMETIC," 

"SCHOOL  GRAMMAR,"  ETC. 


INTRODUCTION  BY 
CLARENCE  E.   MELENEY,  A.  M., 

J^^PJgWjfc^QlJCKNDENT   OF   SCHOOLS,    PATERSON,   N.  J. 


YORK  AND  CHICAGO  : 

STL.    KELLOGG    &    CO. 

1801, 


COPYRIGHT,  1887, 
BY  E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO. 


PREFACE. 


THE  present  work  is  designed  especially  for  the  use  of 
Students  attending  Normal  or  Training  Schools  ;  in  whose 
course  of  professional  study,  as  is  well  known,  the  Art  of 
Teaching  holds  a  prominent  place.  It  bears  the  double 
title,  "  On  Early  and  Infant  School-Education,"  because  the 
principles  of  early  education  are  substantially  the  same 
in  whatever  sphere  it  is  carried  on,  and  the  method  of  the 
Infant-School  can  only  be  satisfactorily  understood  when 
viewed  as  a  result  of  these  principles  with  certain  modifica- 
tions. Whilst,  therefore,  it  is  a  directory  for  the  Infant 
School,  it  is  much  more :  if  its  execution  correspond  in  any 
degree  to  its  plan,  it  exhibits  the  method  that  must  be 
adopted,  more  or  less,  by_  every  teacher  who  has  young 
children  in  his  school.  [There  is  no  existing  work  in  the 
English  language,  so  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  which  ex- 
hibits the  subject  of  this  volume  with  that  just  proportion 
of  principles  to  practice  necessary  to  constitute  a  suitable 
text-book.  The  current  manuals,  excellent  as  some  of  them 
are  in  many  respects,  are  almost  exclusively  occupied  with 
details  of  the  routine  of  teaching. 

The  work  consTsts  of  four  parts. — The  First  Part  is  de- 
voted to  a  consideration  of  principles.  In  the  endeavor  to 
lay  the  psychological  basis — which  is  the  only  natural  or 
possible  one — for  the  practice  of  the  art,  the  features  which 
have  been  constantly  aimed  at  are  simplicity  and  concise- 
ness ;  at  the  same  time,  it  is  hoped,  that  the  requisite  aq- 


IV  PREFACE. 

curacy  of  thought  and  language  has  not  been  lost  sight  of. 
The  scope  of  this  Part  will  show  that  the  writer  entirely  dis- 
sents from  the  opinion — which  has  been  freely  expressed  by 
some  whose  opinions  should  carry  authority  on  this  subject 
— that  the  art  of  teaching  may  be  adequately  taught  empiri- 
cally ;  that  is  to  say,  without  any  reference  to  the  ground- 
work of  principles  on  which  it  rests. 

Part  II.  treats  on  the  subject-matter  of  instruction  in  early 
School-Education.  This  is  not  arbitrary  or  conventional, 
but  necessary  and  of  universal  propriety.  Its  various  com- 
ponents stand  in  a  determinate  relation  to  each  other ;  and, 
whether  viewed  individually  or  in  this  mutual  relation,  are 
evidently  suggested,  with  respect  to  their  time,  manner,  and 
extent,  by  a  consideration  of  the  child's  constitution.  This 
Part  should  therefore  be  studied  with  a  constant  reference 
to  Part  I.,  on  which  its  conclusions  are  founded.  It  has 
been  considered  of  importance  to  give  examples  of  lessons 
under  almost  every  department  of  instruction.  Regarding 
these  it  may  be  remarked,  that  what  has  been  aimed  at  is, 
not  to  give  the  very  words  that  may  be  supposed  to  consti- 
tute the  lesson, — for  the  attempt  to  do  so,  though  very  com- 
mon, is  quite  futile, — but  merely  to  suggest  an  appropriate 
train  of  thought  for  each,  and  to  show  how  the  illustration 
should  be  introduced.  Practical  teaching  cannot  be  learned 
from  book,  even  from  the  most  exact  "  photography"  of  les- 
sons :  it  must  be  learned,  like  any  other  art  or  profession,  by 
imitation  of  good  models  and  by  practice  under  the  eye  of  a 
master. 

Part  III.  exhibits  those  features  of  Teaching  and  Manage- 
ment which  are  of  general  application  in  early  School-Edu- 
cation. School-management  is  particularly  dwelt  on,  in 
respect  that  it  is  frequently  overlooked,  and  undue  promin- 
ence given  to  the  mere  act  of  teaching,  which  yet  bears 
rather  on  the  intellectual  than  on  the  moral  well-being  of 
the  school, 


PREFACE.  V 

Part  IV.  treats  of  what  may  be  called  the  externals  of 
school  and  school-management.  Whilst  the  importance  of 
these  by  themselves  is  by  no  means  to  be  exaggerated,  it  is 
certain  that  without  a  due  appreciation  of  the  power  which 
belongs  to  them  in  their  own  place  the  machinery  of  the 
school  will  network  smoothly,  and  consequently  the  general 
character  of  its  discipline  will  not  be  the  highest  attainable. 
Every  one  knows  that,  the  younger  children  are,  they  are 
the  more  under  the  influence  of  external  circumstances  ;  and 
therefore  tact  in  the  regulation  of  these  is  no  mean  qualifica- 
tion of  the  teacher  who  has  to  do  with  infants  or  young 
children.  In  this  Part  the  school-building  is  described  with 
sufficient  minuteness  to  show  what  a  comfortable  school  is  ; 
and  there  are  exhibited  in  detail  all  the  helps  necessary  to 
an  efficient  school-organization.  The  teachers  of  infant- 
schools  under  inspection  will  likewise  find  the  substance  of 
the  statutory  obligations  which  the  Minutes  of  Council  have 
laid  on  them. 

The  Appendices  will  be  found  useful. — In  Appendix 
B  will  be  found  all  the  information  which  the  teacher 
needs  to  have  regarding  the  symptoms  and  preliminary 
treatment  of  the  disorders  to  which  young  children  are 
liable.  It  may  seem  to  some  to  be  rather  more  minute  than 
is  necessary;  but,  as  the  symptoms  of  indisposition  and 
disease  may  naturally  be  expected  to  show  themselves  fre- 
quently for  the  first  time  during  school-hours,  and  as  they 
are  known  in  the  experience  of  all  teachers  to  have  done  so, 
it  is  fit  that  the  teacher,  more  especially  the  infant-school 
teacher,  under  whose  charge  may  be  placed  a  very  large 
number  of  children  of  tender  age,  for  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  day,  and  in  circumstances  not  always  favorable  to 
health,  should  have  such  an  amount  of  medical  knowledge 
as  this  Appendix  offers. — Appendix  D  is  quite  essential  to 
any  infant-school  manual. 

The  writer  has,  as  in  duty  bound,  availed  himself  of  the 


VI  PREFACE. 

principal  sources  of  information  to  which  he  had  access, 
which  will  be  found  specified  in  their  proper  place  in  the 
notes :  at  the  same  time,  he  deems  it  just  to  say  that  he  is 
much  more  indebted  to  his  own  observation.  In  so  far  as 
he  has  adopted  the  ideas  of  others,  he  has  only  done  so  after 
having  seen  them  verified  in  the  school-room;  so  that  he 
may  say  generally  of  the  treatise  that  all  the  doctrines  incul- 
cated in  it  have  been  repeatedly  tested  in  their  actual  work- 
ing and  results. 

On  the  whole,  the  present  work  is  offered  to  both  teachers 
and  students  in  the  hope  that  it  will  be  found  a  tolerably 
complete  manual  of  method  for  early  and  infant  school-edu- 
cation. And,  perhaps,  whilst  specially  designed  as  a  text- 
book for  the  professional  student  of  the  art  of  teaching,  it 
may  not  be  without  instruction  to  all  who  are  engaged,  or 
who  take  an  interest,  in  the  education  of  the  young,  whether 
in  the  home-circle  or  in  any  other. 

A  volume  corresponding  to  the  present,  devoted  to  the 
consideration  of  method  in  more  advanced  school  education, 
will  complete  the  Writer's  design  in  undertaking  the  work.* 

EDINBURGH,  September,  1857.  JAMES  CURRIE. 

*  Since  published—"  Principles  and  Practice  of  Common  School  Educa- 
tion." 


CONTENTS. 


PART    I. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  EARLY  SCHOOL  EDUCATION. 
CHAPTER  I. — INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE 

1 .  The  three  periods  of  Elementary  Education      .  .  17 

2.  The  Family  the  natural  sphere  of  the  Child's  Education 

during  the  first  or  Infancy  period  18 

3.  Grounds  of  the  modern  Infant-School  system  .  .  18 

4.  Relation  of  the   Infant   School  to  the  Family  School 

and  the  Common  School  in  respect  of  time,  and  the 
considerations  which  determine  this   ...  20 

5.  Relation  of  these  in  respect  of  method  ...  21 

6.  Necessity  of  limiting  the  Infant  School  for  its  own  dis- 

tinctive training  .....  23 

CHAPTER  II. — PHYSICAL  LAWS. 

7.  Mutual  dependence  of  Body  and  Mind  ...  24 

8.  State  of  the  Brain  in  Infancy      ....  24 

9.  How  the  Brain  is  acted  on  from  without  .  .  25 

10.  Just  proportion  of  mental  exertion  to  the  amount  of 

physical  being  the  primary  law  of  Infant  Education  .  26 

1 1.  Well  regulated  activity  necessary  to  the  healthy  growth 

of  the  Brain       ......  27 

12.  Influence  of  the  other  bodily  organs  on  Infant  Educa- 

tion       .  .  .  .  .  .  .27 

13.  The  external  symptoms  of  mental  and  bodily  uneasi- 

ness      .......  28 

CHAPTER  III. — THE  LAW  OF  HAPPINESS. 

14.  Nature  intends  the  periods  of  infancy  and  childhood  to 

be  periods  of  enjoyment  ....  29 

15.  Benefits  of  this  provision  ....  30 

16.  Practical  influence  of  this  consideration  on  early  edu- 

cation   .  .  .  .  .  .  .31 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. — SOCIAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  INFANT  SCHOOL. 

PAGE 

17.  A  good  social  relation  necessary  to  the  child's  happi- 

ness and  education        .  .  .  .  .  33 

18.  Its  power  in  family  training        .  .  .  .  34 

19.  Method  of  establishing  it  in  school         ...  34 

20.  Simultaneous  Action  a  necessity  of  the  Infant  School  .  37 

21.  Exercises  in  which  it  is  suitable  ....  37 

CHAPTER  V. — INTELLECTUAL  TRAINING — THE  SENSES  OR 
PERCEPTIVE  FACULTY. 

22.  Necessity  of  a  knowledge  of  the  Principles  of  Educa- 

tion to  the  Teacher,  and  how  it  is  to  be  attained        .  38 

23.  Functions  and  relative  importance  of  the  Senses  .  39 

24.  Exercise  of  the  Senses  a  large  part  of  early  education  ,  41 

25.  The  object  of  their  cultivation    ....  42 

26.  Influence  of   this  consideration  on  the  work  of   the 

Infant  School    .          \.  ..  .  .  .  43 

CHAPTER  VI. — THE  CONCEPTIVE  FACULTY. 

27.  The  Conceptive  Faculty  in  relation  to  Education          .  44 

28.  Qualities  to  be  cultivated  in  it     .  .  .  .  45 

29.  Process  of  furnishing  the  Conceptive  Faculty  exhibited 

— Abstraction    .  . .  .  .  .  46 

30.  The  same — Generalization  .  .  .  .  47 

31.  Rationale  of  Illustration  or  "  Picturing  out "     .  .  48 

32.  Attention  as  related  to  clearness  and  strength  of  con- 

ception .  .  .  .  .  .  .49 

33.  Attention  as  an  instinct  and  as  a  voluntary  act  .  49 

34.  Emotion  as  influencing  strength  of  conception  .  .  50 

35.  Obstacles  to  the  habit  of  attention  .  .  .  51 

36.  Manner  of  guiding  the  attention  ...  52 

37.  Importance  of  cultivating  the  Conceptive  Faculty         .  53 

CHAPTER  VII. — THE  REASONING  FACULTY  OR  SENSE  OF 
RELATION. 

38.  Nature  of  the  higher  faculty         ....  53 

39.  The  associating  principles  by  which  it  works  in  Child- 

hood     .  ...  .  .  .  .54 

40.  The  sense  of  Order  or  Succession  in  time  and  space     .  55 

41.  The  sense  of  Likeness  and  Unlikeness  ...  56 

42.  How  it  is  cultivated  in  teaching  .  .  .56 

43.  Limits  of  its  exercise       .....  58 

44.  Sense  of  Analogy  or  the  likeness  of  relations    .  .  58 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGE 

45.  Sense  of  Ratio  or  relation  in  number  and  quantity       .  59 

46.  The  sense  of  Causality     .....  60 

47.  The  whole  sense  of  Relation  in  infancy  limited  to  the 

sphere  of  observation  .....  Ci 

48.  Defects  of  the  teaching  which  disregards  this  law  ex- 

emplified ....  .62 

49.  General  characteristics  of  Method  in  the  Infant  School 

with  reference  to  the  higher  faculty    ...  63 

CHAPTER  VIII. — THE  IMAGINATION. 

50.  The  Faculty  of  Imagination  in  relation  to  Education    .  64 

51.  Its  exercise  exemplified  .....  65 

52.  Field  for  its  exercise — Natural  Objects  and  Scenery     .  65 

53.  The  same — Scenes  from  life       ....  66 

54.  Importance  of  cultivating  this  faculty  in  childhood       .  67 

CHAPTER  IX. — MORAL  TRAINING — THE  FEELINGS. 

55.  The  scope  of  Moral  Education    ....  68 

56.  Importance  of  attending  to  it      .             .             .             .  70 

57.  Infancy  the  critical  period  .  .70 

58.  Action  the  only  effectual  means  of  training  the  Feel- 

ings       .......  71 

59.  Wide  field  presented  by  the  Infant  School  for  moral 

education           ......  72 

60.  The  basis  of  morality  at  this  period  not  the  reason  but 

the  affections    ......  72 

61.  Moral  use  of  the  imagination      ....  73 

62.  Certain  states  of  existence  are  obstacles  to  moral  edu- 

cation   .......  74 

63.  Moral  education  a  positive,  not  a  negative,  process      .  75 

64.  Premature  testing  of  the  dispositions  prejudicial           .  76 

65.  The  Teacher's  self-control           .             .             .             .  76 

66.  Reflex  influence  of  action  upon  feeling  ...  77 

67.  Some  of  the  difficulties  Moral  Education  has  to  contend 

with       .......  78 

68.  Feelings  which  should  be  cultivated — our  Relation  to 

God — Love        ......  78 

69.  Reverence              ......  79 

70.  Submission  to  God's  will             ....  80 

71.  Our  Social  Relation — Truthfulness         ...  80 

72.  Kindness  .......  82 

73.  Honesty    .....  .83 

7|.    Feelings  primarily  affecting  the  individual — Modesty, 

Punctuality,  Cleanliness,  etc.               ...  85 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  X.— THE  WILL. 

PAGE 

75.  Importance  of  training  the  Will .                                      .  85 

76.  The  two  defects  commonly  observable  in  the  Will       .  87 

77.  Causes  that  lead  to  these  defects             ...  87 

78.  To  train  the  Will  we  must  inspire  right  motives  of 

action    .  ;  .  -  .  .  .  .  89 

79.  In  infancy  these  must  be  supplemented  by  the  direct 

authority  of  the  teacher  .  »  .  .  89 

80.  Characteristics  of  a  sound  authority       ...  90 

81.  The  maintenance  of  the  just  proportion  between  obedi- 

ence and  freedom  constitutes  the  perfection  of  dis- 
cipline  .......  92 

82.  What  the  School  can  do  to  develop  Constancy  of  Will .  93 

83.  Power  of  Habit  in  forming  the  Character  .  .  95 

84.  Danger  of  dependence  on  habit  not  liable  to  be  incurred 

in  infancy          .  .  .  .  .  .  96 


PART   II. 
SUBJECTS  OF  INSTRUCTION  IN  THE  INFANT  SCHOOL. 

CHAPTER  I. — INTRODUCTION — GENERAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE 
INSTRUCTION. 

85.  Nature  of  the  engagements  of  the  Infant  School         .  97 

86.  General  method  of  the  instruction  conversational       .  98 

87.  Linguistic  aspect  of  such  instruction     ...  99 

88.  Danger  of  the  excessive  use  of  the  reading-book        .         100 

89.  Limitations  under  which  reading  may  be  allowed        .         101 

90.  Tabular  view  of  Infant-School  work     .  .  .102 

CHAPTER  II. — PHYSICAL  CIRCUMSTANCES  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

91.  Duty  of  the  teacher  to  attend  to  these  .  .  .103 

92.  Ventilation          ,             .             .             .             .             .  103 

93.  Temperature       .            \   :         .            .            .             .  104 

94.  Light       ....  104 

95.  Length  and  distribution  of  daily  attendance     .             .  105 

96.  Shortness  and  variety  of  Lessons          .             .             .  105 

97.  Physical  relaxation  in  School    ....  106 

98.  Physical  Exercises          .....  106 

99.  Recreation  in  Playground          .                                       .  107 
IOO.  Singing   .......  107 


CONTENTS.  Xl 

CHAPTER  III. — INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION. 
1.  The  Object-Lesson. 

PAGE 

101.  Difference  between  the  Object-lesson  of  the  Infant 

School  and  the  lesson  on  "common  things"  so  called.         108 

102.  Range  of  the  Object-lesson        ....         109 

103.  Meaning  of  the  phrase  "familiar  or  common  things"         no 

104.  Actual  observation  and  inspection  of  objects  necessary         in 

105.  The  describing  and  naming  of  the  qualities  of  things  .         in 

106.  Different  stages  in  the  Object-lesson     .  .  .112 

107.  Subjects  suitable  for  the  first  stages      .  .  .113 

108.  Subjects  suitable  for  the  second  .  .  .115 

109.  Subjects  suitable  for  the  third   .  .  .  .116 
no.  Example  of  Lessons  for  the  first  stage .             .  .         117 
in.   Examples  for  the  second  stage  .             .             .             .120 

112.  Examples  for  the  third  stage      ....         123 

113.  Use  of   Black-board  in  connection  with   the  Object- 

lesson    .......         123 

114.  Moral  aspects  of  the  Object  lesson        .  .  .         124 

2.  Number. 

115.  Nature  of  the  Infant-School  Instruction  in  Number  .  124 

116.  Its  Extent           ......  125 

117.  Its  Value             ......  126 

118.  Practical  Numeration,  with  Examples              .             .  126 

119.  The  Adding  of  Numbers,  with  Examples         .             .  127 

120.  The  Subtracting  of  Numbers,  with  Examples .             .  129 

121.  The  Multiplying  of  Numbers    ....  130 

122.  The  Dividing  of  Numbers          .  .  .  .132 

123.  Combined  Operations    .....  133 

124.  Parts  or  Fractions  of  Number  ....  134 

125.  Cautions  for  the  use  of  the  Ball-frame              .             .  136 

126.  Manner  of  conducting  the  Collective  Lesson  on  Num- 

ber      .  .  .  .  .  .  .137 

127.  Number  as  applied  to  Standard  Measures        .             .  137 

128.  Number  as  applied  to  Value     ....  138 

129.  Number  as  applied  to  Size  or  Linear  Measure             .  138 

130.  Number  as  applied  to  Weight  ....  139 

131.  Number  as  applied  to  Square  Measure              .             .  139 

132.  Number  as  applied  to  Capacity  and  Time        .             .  140 

133.  Manner  of  using  Reduction-tables        .             .             .  140 

3.  On  Color  and  Form. 

134.  Utility  of  the  Lessons  on  Color  and  Form       .  .         140 

135.  Peculiarities  of  each  Department          .  .  .         141 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

136.  Special  design  of  the  Color-lessons      .             .             .  142 

137.  Order  in  which  they  may  be  given                    .             .  142 

138.  Apparatus           .             .            .             .             .             .  143 

139.  How  the  sense  of  Harmony  in  Color  may  be  Edu- 

cated   .             .             .             .                         .            .  144 

140.  General  Scope  of  the  Lessons  in  Form             .    -          .  144 

141.  Straight  Lines    .             .             .             .             ...           .  144 

142.  Combinations  of  Straight  Lines             .             .             .  144 

143.  Plane  Figures     .             .           '.             ...           .  :          .  146 

144.  Inventive  Exercises                     .             .             .             .  146 

145.  Curved  Lines     .             .            .             .             .             .  146 

146.  Application  of  these  elements  to  commonly  occurring 

Forms              .             .            '..-."         .             .  147 

147.  Application  of  these  elements  to  commonly  occurring 

Things        .    .  •          .             .             .            .             .  147 

148.  Apparatus            .             .             i             «   -                       .  148 

149.  Solids  and  their  Representations           .             .             .  149 
150    Form-lesson  not  a  mere  amusement    .             .             .  149 

151.  Example  of  Form  lesson  on   the  even-up-and-down 

(perpendicular)  line    .....  150 

152.  Example  of  Lesson  on  even-up-and-down  lines  at  equal 

distances          .            .             .            .             .            .  151 

153.  Example  of  Lesson  on  a  plane  straight-line  Figure — 

the  Rectangle.             .....  152 

154.  Example  of  Lesson  on  the  plane  curve-line  Figure — 

the  Circle      ?.  .  .  .153 

155.  Example  of  Lesson  on  Solids — The  Cylinder  .             .  154 

4.  On  Singing. 

156.  Necessity  of  Singing  in  the  Infant  School       .             .  155 

157.  Extent  to  which  it  should  be  carried     .             .             .  155 

158.  Style  of  Music  suitable  .....  156 

159.  Characteristics  of  Infant-School  Music             .             .  156 

160.  Singing  in  Two  Parts     .             .             .             .             .  157 

161.  The  kind  of  Verses  suitable  for  Singing           .             .  157 

162.  Tasteful  Singing                          .             ,             .  157 

5.  On  Geography. 

163.  Explanation  of  the  study  of  Geography  in  the  Infant 

School  .  .  .  .  .158 

164.  Error  most  frequently  made      .             .             .             .  158 

165.  Nature  of  the  Infant-School  Geography           .             .  159 

166.  Richness  of  its  materials  exemplified  .             .             .  160 

167.  Its  Imaginative  and  Comparative  Aspect         .             .  161 

168.  How  far  Proper  Names  should  be  given          .             .  162 


CONTENTS. 


169.  How  the  child  at  this  period  identifies  foreign  coun- 

tries    .......  162 

170.  Apparatus  for  the  Geography-lesson    .             .             .  163 

171.  Connection  of  the  Infant-School  Geography  with  that 

of  the  Juvenile  School            ....  164 

6.  On  Beading  to  the  Children. 

172.  Utility  of  the  practice  of  Reading  to  Children              .  165 

173.  Characteristics  of  Children's  Books      .             .             .  166 

174.  Two  classes  of  Children's  Books           .             .             .  168 

175.  Caution  to  be  observed  in  Reading  to  Children           .  169 

7.  On  Beading  and  Spelling. 

176.  General  cautions  to  be  observed  in  teaching  Reading  170 

177.  The  Theory  of  teaching  Reading  in  the  Infant  School  170 

178.  Two  stages  of  Infant-School  Reading  .             .             .  171 

179.  Different  ways  of  beginning  Reading  .  .  .171 

180.  The  Stimulus  that  has  greatest  power  with  the  child  .  172 

181.  The  Alphabet     ......  173 

182.  Words  of  Two  Letters  .  .  .  .  .173 

183.  Phonic  Analogies           .....  174 

184.  Apparatus  to  be  used  prior  to  the  Reading-book        .  175 

185.  General  directions  for  conducting  the  more  advanced 

Reading          ......  175 

186.  Faults  in  Reading — Impurity  of  Utterance      .             .  176 

187.  Indistinctness     ......  177 

1 88.  Other  faults  indicated    .  .  .  .  .177 

189.  Use  of  Simultaneous  Reading  ....  178 

190.  How  the  child  learns  Spelling  at  first  .             .             .  178 

191.  Formal  practice  in  Spelling       .  .  .  .178 

192.  Rudimentary  Dictation .             ....  179 

193.  Impropriety  of  Grammar  in  the  Infant  School             .  179 

CHAPTER  IV. — RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION. 

194.  General  character  of  the  Infant-School  Religious  In- 

struction         ......  180 

195.  Extent  of  Instruction  in  Doctrine         .  .  .181 

196.  Manner  of  conveying  this  Instruction  .             .             .  181 

197.  Outline  of  a  Scheme  of  Lessons            .             .             .  182 

198.  Instruction  in  Practical  Religion           .             .             .  184 

199.  Incidental  Religious  Instruction             .             .             .  185 

200.  Externals  of  the  Religious  Lesson        .  .  .185 

201.  Examples  of  the  different  kinds  of  Religious  Lesson — 

"  The  Scripture  Narrative"    ....  186 


CONTENTS. 


202.  "The  Scripture  Emblem"          .  .  .  .  187 

203.  "  The  Scripture  Precept"  ....  188 

204.  One  of  a  Series  of  Lessons  on  the  Lord's  Prayer        .  189 

205.  The  "  Moral  Lesson"     .....  igo 

206.  School  Devotions  .....  191 

207.  Examples  of  Prayers  suitable  for  the  Infant  School   .  192 


PART   III. 

ELEMENTS    OF    CRITICISM   AS    APPLIED   TO   TEACH- 
ING AND   SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT. 

CHAPTER  I. — CHARACTERISTICS  OF  LESSON-GIVING. 

208.  Interest  is  the  first  requisite  in  a  Lesson          .             .  195 

209.  The  "  Plan"  in  a  Lesson            .             .             .             .  196 

210.  Procedure  from  the  known  to  the  unknown    .             .  196 

211.  Beginning,  middle,  and  end       .  .  .  .196 

212.  Faults  in  the  Plan  of  a  Lesson .             .                         .  197 

213.  Notes  of  Lessons            .            »            .             .            .  197 

214.  Undue  display  of  Plan  .            „            ...  197 

215.  The  "  working-out  "  of  a  Lesson — Regularity              .  198 

216.  Intelligence         ......  198 

217.  Two  opposite  Errors  in  the  "  Manner  of  Address"     .  199 

218.  On  Illustration   .             .             .             ,             .             .  200 

219.  Verbal  Illustration          .             .             .             .             .  200 

220.  Pictorial  and  Black-board  Illustration              .             .  201 

221.  The  use  of  Definitions  .                          .             .             .  202 

222.  The  Means  of  impressing  Instruction  .             .             .  202 

223.  On  Repetition     .             .                           .             .             .  202 

224.  The  Ultimate  Test  of  a  Lesson             .            ,            .  203 

CHAPTER  II. — ON  THE  LANGUAGE  OF  TEACHING. 

225.  Simplicity  of  Language              ....  203 

226.  Precision              .             .             .    r  -    •    .    -     -  ..             .  204 

227.  Fluency  .......  204 

228.  Correctness  of  Enunciation,  Grammar,  and  Expres- 

sion     .             .             .             .             .             .            .  204 

229.  Tone  and  Modulation    .             .            .             .            .  205 

230.  Pitch  and  Loudness        .             .            .            .            .  205 

CHAPTER  III. — ON  QUESTIONING. 

231.  Individual  Questioning  only  partially  applicable  in  the 

Infant  School              ,             ,             ,            f . .          ,  £o§ 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PAGE 

232.  The  influence  of  Sympathy        ....  207 

233.  Simultaneous  Questioning         ....  207 

234.  Elliptical  Questioning — its  Theory        .  .  .  208 

235.  Rules  for  using  Ellipses  ....  208 

CHAPTER  IV.— TEMPER  AND  MANNER  IN  TEACHING. 

236.  Personal  influence  of  the  Teacher  as  bearing  on  the 

success  of  his  Lessons  ....  209 

237.  Cheerfulness       ......  209 

238.  Patience  .......  210 

239.  Self-possession   .  .  .  .  .  .210 

240.  Enthusiasm         .  .  .  .  .  .211 

241.  Animation  ......  211 

242.  Decorum  ......  211 

CHAPTER  V. — PRACTICAL  DISCIPLINE. 

24-1.   Meaning  of  the  term  "  Discipline"       .  .  .  212 

244.  Motives  to  be  cultivated  in  the  Infant  School  .  .  212 

245.  Rewards  and  Punishments         .  .  .  214 

246.  "  Places"  and  Prizes  not  expedient       .  .  .  215 

247.  The  "  Sugar-plum"  system        .  .  .  215 

248.  Tasks  and  Corporal  Punishments          .  .  216 

249.  Explosion    vAAXfj.^  \-  •  ,  •  •  •  •  2I° 

250.  Marks  of~a  generous  Discipline  .  .  .  217 

251.  How  to  maintain  the  Dignity  and  Effectiveness  of  the 

Rewards  and  Punishments  adopted  .  .  .  218 


PART   IV. 
SCHOOL-STRUCTURES   AND   ORGANIZATION. 

CHAPTER  I. — SCHOOL-STRUCTURES. 

252.  Site  of  an  Infant  School  *  221 

253.  Parts  of  an  Infant  School  ....  222 

254.  Dimensions  of  School-room       ....  222 

255.  Distribution  of  space  exemplified  in  a  School  of  mod- 

erate size          .  ...         224 

256.  The  same  in  a  large  School       .  .  .  .225 

257.  Section-room,  Teacher's  Room,  Wash-room,  Entrance- 

room  or  Lobby  .....         225 

258.  Ventilation,  Lighting,  and  Heating       .  ,  ,         226 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

259.  The  Playground — its  Uses         ....  227 

260.  Superintendence  of  Playground            .             .             .  228 

261.  Features  in  arrangement  of  Playground           .            .  228 

262.  School-cleaning  ......  229 

CHAPTER  II. — ORGANIZATION. 

263.  Organization  of  Classes  and  Groups     .             ;            .  230 

264.  Time-tables — their  Uses             ....  231 

265.  Principles  of  their  Construction             .             .             .  232 

266.  Specimen  of  Time-tables            ....  233 

267.  School-Registers — their  Uses    ....  235 

268.  Register  of  Admission  and  Withdrawal  explained  and 

exemplified      .             .             .                          .             .  235 

269.  Daily  Register  of  Attendance  exemplified        .             .  237 

270.  Its  Construction  and  the  Manner  of  using  it    .             .  237 

271.  Explanation  of  Annual  Returns  required  from  Infant 

Schools  under  Inspection        .             .             .             .  238 

272.  Register  of  Fees             .             .             .             .            ,  240 

273.  Register  of  Work  or  Lesson- Roll          .             .            .  240 

CHAPTER  III. — SCHOOL-APPARATUS. 

274.  Necessity  of  School-Apparatus              .             .             .  242 

275.  What  Apparatus  should  comprise— Black-boards        .  242 

276.  Letter-cards  and  Lesson-sheets  for  Reading     .             .  243 

277.  Ball  frame  and  Standard  Measures       .             .             .  243 

278.  Apparatus  for  Color  and  Form              .             .             .  243 

279.  Pictures  .......  244 

280.  Collection  of  Objects      .....  244 

281.  How  to  Use  these           .....  245 

282.  Teacher's  Library           .....  246 

283.  Care  in  the  Use  of  Apparatus  ....  246 

CHAPTER'  IV. — PUPIL-TEACHERS. 

284.  Necessity  of  care  in  selecting  Pupil-Teachers  .             .  247 

285.  Tests  of  Fitness              .             .             .             .             .  247 

286.  Statutory  engagements  of  the  Teacher  towards  them  .  248 

287.  Extent  of  his  Moral  Obligation  towards  them              .  248 


APPENDIX  A. — On  Color      .....        274 
APPENDIX  B. — On  the  more  simple  Disorders  and  Injuries 

to  which  Children  are  liable        ,  .         277 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


BY  SUPT.  CLARENCE  E.  MELENEY,  A.M 

THE  increasing  demand  for  "Currie's  Early  and  Infant- 
School  Education"  is  an  encouraging  sign,  and  its  republi- 
cation  here  will  gratify  a  large  number  of  students  of  Ele- 
mentary Education  who  are  eager  to  master  the  principles 
as  well  as  the  methods  of  teaching.  The  book  fills  a  place 
that  is  not  occupied  by  any  other  educational  work  yet  pub- 
lished, and  it  will  be  found  especially  valuable  to  Normal 
Training  Schools  as  well  as  to  Reading  Circles. 

As  indicated  in  the  author's  preface,  and  as  a  glance  at  the 
work  will  show,  the  plan  is  to  lay  before  the  reader  the  prin- 
ciples of  psychology  in  as  simple  and  comprehensive  a  manner 
as  possible,  and  to  direct  the  educator  in  applying  the  appro- 
priate material  and  the  correct  methods  for  the  proper 
development  of  all  the  powers  of  the  child. 

The  subject  of  Early  and  Infant  Education  is  one  in  which 
not  only  educators  but  all  parents  and  members  of  school 
boards  should  be  interested.  The  public- school  system  un- 
fortunately has  not  yet  embraced  that  large  class  of  children 
designated  by  Currieas  being  in  the  second  stage  of  infancy, 
from  four  to  seven  years  of  age.  But  the  time  is  coming,  it 
must  come,  when  the  state  will  recognize,  as  some  cities  have 
done,  the  obligation  to  include  these  little  ones  in  the  free 
public-school  system. 


XVI11  INTRODUCTION. 

There  is  no  mo^e  important  knowledge  for  a  parent  to  be 
possessed  of  than  the  knowledge  of  his  child,  of  his  faculties 
and  powers,  and  the  proper  methods  of  development,  and  he 
should  realize  the  importance  of  training  from  infancy.  It 
is  also  necessary  that  parents  should  comprehend  the  teach- 
er's work  and  understand  the  ends  to  be  arrived  at  by  all  the 
processes  of  the  school.  For  them  a  work  on  Early  Educa- 
tion is  especially  valuable.  When  a  community  does  come 
to  realize  the  importance  of  systematic  training,  by  skilled 
teachers,  of  children  during  the  infancy  period,  then  will  be 
seen  one  of  the  greatest  movements  in  educational  progress. 
The  issue  of  an  American  edition  of  a  work  upon  this  sub- 
ject is  one  of  the  means  by  which  it  is  hoped  our  people  may 
become  aware  of  the  great  importance  of  early  training. 

The  author's  plea  for  the  establishment  of  infancy  schools 
is  one  that  should  reach  the  heart  of  every  lover  of  little 
children.  Where  are  the  homes,  either  in  higher  or  middle 
classes  of  society,  where  the  child  is  guided  and  taught  by 
correct  principles  of  education  ?  How  many  parents  have 
the  time  or  the  inclination  to  provide  suitable  occupation 
for  the  little  ones  ?  Fortunate,  indeed,  are  the  children 
whose  parents  realize  the  necessity  and  are  blessed  with  the 
means  of  placing  them  in  the  care  of  teachers  who  have 
ability  and  the  true  spirit,  and  happy  indeed  are  the  little 
waifs  in  some  of  our  great  cities  who  have  been  found  and 
cared  for  by  the  Free  Kindergarten  and  Sub-Primary  As- 
sociations. 

The  mission  of  this  book  is  to  educate  teachers,  those  who 
are  preparing  themselves  for  the  work,  and  those  who  are 
anxious  to  enlarge  their  knowledge  by  professional  study. 
While  apparently  designed  for  the  elementary  teacher,  it 
clearly  develops  the  fundamental  principle  upon  which  all 
true  teaching  is  based.  No  teacher  is  competent  to  instruct 
and  train  children  who  does  not  know  the  principles  upon 
which  his  art  depends.  He  may  instruct,  but  his  work  will 


INTRODUCTION.  XIX 

be  in  vain  if  he  does  not  comprehend  the  true  end  of  instruc- 
tion. He  may  impart  knowledge  and  make  a  fine  exhibition 
of  his  pupils,  and  yet  the  knowledge  and  the  method  of  ac- 
quiring it  may  have  been  fruitless  and  even  injurious  to  the 
permanent  well-being  of  the  pupils.  His  methods  may  be  in 
accordance  with  custom,  and  yet  at  variance  with  principles 
and  wholly  worthless  as  means  of  developing  power  or  true 
character. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  experience  to  meet  teachers  who 
think  the  principles  of  education  apply  only  to  primary 
teaching,  and  that  elementary  teachers  are  the  only  ones 
who  should  be  expected  to  study  works  on  education  or  at- 
tend teachers'  meetings.  This  is  a  great  error.  The  teacher 
of  advanced  work  needs  to  thoroughly  understand  the  best 
methods  and  their  relation  to  principles.  Unfortunately 
there  is  some  very  poor  teaching  in  our  highest  grades,  and 
a  great  deal  of  poor  teaching  in  advanced  institutions  of 
learning.  One  of  the  greatest  misfortunes  to  the  profession 
is  the  letting  loose  upon  the  academies  and  high  schools  of 
the  country  every  year  swarms  of  *•  college  boys"  who  have 
not  the  remotest  idea  of  methods  or  principles  of  teaching, 
but  who  are  possessed  of  a  mistaken  sense  of  their  profound 
scholarship  and  consequent  ability  (?)  to  teach  in  "any 
position  to  which  they  may  aspire,"  in  "  testimony  whereof" 
the  kind-hearted  professors  "  have  no  hesitation"  in  stating 
that  the  youth  is  "  well  qualified  to  fill  in  a  satisfactory  man- 
ner any  educational  position  to  which  he  may  be  called," 
and  congratulate  "  any  board  of  education  that  may  be  so 
fortunate  as  to  secure  his  services."  This  idea  that  a  knowl- 
edge of  a  certain  curriculum  of  studies  is  the  only  requisite 
qualification  for  a  teacher,  promulgated  by  the  most  learned 
men  of  the  country,  and  believed  and  acted  upon  by  all  fresh 
college  graduates,  and,  strange  to  say,  made  the  only  basis 
for  the  granting  of  teachers'  certificates,  has  done  much  to 
prevent  teaching  from  becoming  a  profession.  But  the  day 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

is  coming,  and  not  far  distant,  when  the  professional  training 
of  teachers  will  be  regarded  as  necessary  as  the  professional 
education  of  the  clergyman,  the  physician,  and  the  lawyer. 

This  valuable  book  recognizes  the  threefold  nature  of  the 
human  being,  and  shows  the  relation  and  interdependence  of 
the  physical,  the  intellectual,  and  the  moral.  It  exhibits  the 
child  as  he  is,  active,  full  of  life,  energy,  love  of  play,  capacity 
for  work ;  happy,  enjoying  life  and  activity  ;  social,  needing 
company  and  giving  help  and  sympathy ;  possessed  of  sen- 
sibilities, having  a  will  of  his  own,  and  gifted  with  intel- 
lectual faculties  capable  of  development  and  growth.  It  ex- 
plains how  these  faculties  are  to  be  exercised,  and  suggests 
the  proper  subjects  of  instruction.  Says  the  author,  "  The 
exercise  of  the  senses  is  a  great  part  of  the  work  of  early  in- 
tellectual education."  "  The  child's  constant,  intense,  and 
successful  activity  with  things  indicates  the  method  of  train- 
ing proper  to  his  earliest  years."  "The  training  of  the  con- 
ceptive  faculty  is  the  greater  part  of  the  intellectual  business 
of  the  infant  school."  "  A  rich  and  ready  conception  is  the 
soil  out  of  which  grows  a  sound  judgment." 

The  author's  view  of  moral  education  may  be  understood 
from  the  following  quotations  : 

"  Conscience  is  within  the  moral  sphere  what  conscious- 
ness is  in  the  intellectual."  "  Thus  in  our  threefold  relation 
to  God,  to  our  neighbor,  and  to  ourselves,  it  tells  us  of  certain 
duties :  to  God,  love,  reverence,  obedience ;  to  our  neigh- 
bor, benevolence,  justice,  sincerity ;  to  ourselves,  purity, 
patience,  humility." 

A  few  words  are  necessary  regarding  the  proper  age  for 
children  to  begin  school  work.  The  author  defines  infancy 
as  the  period  from  birth  to  the  end  of  the  seventh  year,  and 
later  states  that  "  the  most  suitable  age  for  admission  to 
the  infant  school  seems  to  be  about  four  years."  In  Part  II. 
the  subjects  of  instruction  are  treated  in  detail.  This  would 
naturally  imply  that  children  of  four  or  five  years  of  age  are 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 

capable  of  doing  the  ordinary  primary-school  work.  But 
this  is  not  the  author's  intention.  The  work  outlined  here 
is  intended  to  cover  a  period  extending  over  three  or  four 
years,  and  these  subjects  must  not  be  undertaken  until  the 
child  is  prepared  for  them.  The  author  intends  the  first 
years  to  be  employed  in  exercises  suited  to  the  tender  years 
of  childhood  ;  thus  he  says  :  "  From  the  principles  laid  down 
in  the  foregoing  pages,  it  will  appear  that  physical  exercises 
for  the  healthy  growth  and  relaxation  of  the 'body  ;  exercises 
of  observation,  conception,  and  imagination,  for  the  mind ; 
and  moral  and  religious  lessons  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
heart,  are  the  principal  engagements  of  infancy,  and  there- 
fore of  the  infant  school."  "The  instruction  should  be 
carried  on  through  the  medium  of  familiar  conversation," 
thus  continuing  "the  process  the  parent  has  begun."  "The 
teacher  presents  to  him  things  of  which  he  already  knows 
something."  Later,  "the  child  should  be  prepared  for 
learning  to  read  rather  than  engaged  in  reading."  "  Lessons 
of  different  kinds,  i.e.,  occupying,  different  senses,  should 
follow  each  other"  (Chap.  I.,  Part  II.). 

In  regard  to  the  length  of  sessions,  the  author  says, 
*'  Children  in  the  infant  school  are  not  capable  of  much 
tension,  either  mental  or  bodily."  "The  hours  of  school 
attendance  should  not  be  long,  never  exceeding  four  daily." 
"  Whatever  children  can  do  in  school  they  will  accomplish 
within  these  hours." 

The  leading  educators  of  to-day  are  agreed  that  the  time 
has  about  arrived  when  the  Kindergarten  should  be  incor- 
porated into  the  public-school  system,  and  thus  admit  chil- 
dren at  four  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Currie  was  evidently  unfamiliar  with  the  Kindergarten, 
and  this  work  shows  that  he  felt  the  need  of  it ;  in  fact,  it 
seems  to  foreshadow  it.  He  tried  to  supply  its  place  with 
his  lessons  in  object-teaching,  which  lacks  system  and  is 
more  or  less  vaguely  set  forth.  With  the  Kindergarten  as 


XX11  INTRODUCTION. 

the  foundation,  the  author's  plans  and  methods,  based  as  they 
are  upon  true  principles  of  teaching,  cannot  fail  to  be  of  the 
highest  value  to  the  teacher  who  would  proceed  in  accord- 
ence  with  sound  educational  philosophy. 

CLARENCE  E.  MELENEY. 
PATERSON,  N.  J.,  September,  1887. 


PART   I. 
PRINCIPLES  OF  EARLY  SCHOOL  EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCT  I  ON. 

The  three  !•  IT  ls  common  to  distinguish  three  periods 
Kementar  m  elernentarv  education :  infancy,  extending 
Education,  from  birth  till  six  and  a  half  or  seven  years  of 
age ;  childhood,  from  that  till  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth 
year;  and  youth,  from  that  again  till  the  sixteenth  or 
seventeenth.  The  limits  of  the  periods  may  vary  in  par- 
ticular cases ;  but  the  periods  themselves  are  naturally  sug- 
gested by  so  many  distinct  phases  in  the  child's  physical 
and  rational  being.  Infancy  is  that  period  in  which  the 
organization  of  the  framework  through  which  the  mind  acts 
on  the  world  without  is  incomplete ;  childhood  commences 
with  the  completion  of  this  organization,  and  continues  as 
long  as  animal  enjoyment  is  the  chief  consideration  of  life  : 
the  period  of  youth  unfolds  itself  when  the  mind  begins  to 
feel  interest  in  its  own  exertion,  and  to  be  somewhat  self- 
sustaining  in  its  operations,  meeting  the  educator,  as  it  were, 
half-way.  If  one  of  these  periods  be  overlooked,  or  not  used 
in  the  way  that  its  characteristics  demand,  elementary  edu- 
cation is  so  far  imperfect  or  vitiated.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  education  be  extended  beyond  the  last  of  these  periods 
into  early  manhood,  this  fourth  period  is  marked  by  self- 
2 


1 8  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

application,  the  teacher  doing  little  more  than  guiding  the 
pupil  to  proper  subjects  in  proper  order,  and  inspiring  him 
with  the  love  of  study :  this  is  the  period  of  special  profes- 
sional education. 

The  Fami-  2.  During  the  first  or  infancy  period,  the 
rai^ner^of  family  circle  is  the  natural  scene  of  the  child's 
Education3  education.  It  is  essential,  not  only  to  the  in- 
fill "finnan-  fant's  happiness,  but  to  its  life,  that  it  be,  in- 
cy  period.  dividually,  the  object  of  an  unceasing  and  tender 
solicitude.  Where  can  it  receive  this  but  in  the  family,  or 
in  some  circle  which  shall  be  to  it  as  the  family?  There  it " 
remains  till  its  body  gain  strength,  till  its  mind  be  organized, 
till  its  character  become  strong  enough  to  be  intrusted  to 
the  promiscuous  multitude  of  the  school.  Not  that  the 
parents  are"  its  sole  educators  during  this  period.  In  its 
earliest  years,  the  child  cannot  be  reached  at  all  by  direct 
instruction.  But  nature  herself  is  then  busy  in  its  education ; 
she  provides  means  and  incitements  for  it  to  exercise  such 
powers  as  it  has  ;  impressions  from  things  without  are  con- 
stantly flowing  into  its  mind  before  words  have  any  meaning 
for  it,  and  this  even  from  its  birth.  The  parents'  duty,  at 
this  period,  is  to  remove  all  obstacles  from  this  free  play  of 
its  faculties.  But  when  the  infant  advances,  acquires  the 
power  of  language,  and  enters  a  wider  sphere  of  observation, 
the  words  of  the  parent  must  accompany  and  enlighten  the 
impressions  it  imbibes  from  its  external  circumstances. 
Over  the  whole  period,  the  home  circle  is  the  natural  head- 
quarters and  regulator  of  the  child's  impressions,  and  it 
must  take  the  responsibility  for  the  kind  of  influences  to 
which  the  plastic  mind  of  infancy  is  subjected. 

Grounds  of  ^-  Let  il  be  supposed  that  every  family  were 
infant-School m  circumstances  to  undertake  this  most  im- 
system.  portant  part  of  its  duty.  Let  there  be  the  op- 
portunity, the  ability,  the  disposition,  to  do  it.  Let  the 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

family  avail  itself  of  its  singular  advantages  for  this  work: 
/.  <?.,  let  ardent  self-denying  love  be  the  indwelling  spirit 
of  the  process ;  let  there  be  a  patient  adaptation  of  each 
part  of  the  work  to  the  peculiarities  of  each  child  ;  let  there 
be  a  consistence  of  all  its  parts,  arising  out  of  a  most  in- 
timate knowledge  of  the  child's  nature;  then  it  will  be 
granted  that  we  should  not  interfere  with  the  parent  in  his 
work,  nor  tempt  him  in  any  way  to  give  it  up  to  others. 
But  let  there  be  a  state  of  society  where  the  opportunity, 
the  ability,  and  the  disposition  of  this  work  are  wanting, 
and  where,  consequently,  the  work  is  left  undone ;  let  there 
be  families  together,  where  the  parents  must  labor  for  their 
daily  bread,  till  their  strength  is  exhausted,  their  minds 
dimmed,  and  even  their  affections  weakened,  by  lassitude ; 
or  where  from  their  own  ignorance  they  have  neither  a  full 
sense  of  their  responsibility,  nor  any,  the  slightest,  acquaint- 
ance with  the  means  or  method  of  educating  the  child ;  or 
even,  as  we  may  suppose,  where  the  sacred  precincts  of  the 
family  circle  are  tainted  by  the  presence  of  vice,  so  that  the 
child  breathes  the  atmosphere  of  vice  and  misery  all  day 
long; — it  is  surely  a  benefit  to  that  society,  a  blessing  to 
those  children,  that  they  be  removed  to  some  other  sphere, 
where  they  may  receive  impressions  that  shall  fill  the  void 
in  their  minds,  and,  if  need  be,  struggle  with  their  miserable 
impressions  of  home.  Or,  to  make  a  less  extreme  supposi- 
tion, let  there  be  a  state  of  middle-class  society,  where 
parents  have  but  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  principles 
of  infant-training,  but  where  sound  principles  are  in  circula- 
tion, an  institution  which  assembles  infants  for  a  few  hours 
daily  to  occupy  them  in  a  rational  way  must  still  be  deemed 
a  social  benefit.  A  better  general  culture  is  imparted  to 
the  children  than  if  they  remained  entirely  at  home ;  whilst 
there  still  remains  ample  room  for  each  family  to  educate 
its  own,  as  far  as  it  is  competent  to  do  so.  Such  are  the 
grounds  of  the  modern  infant-school  system. 


20  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

Relation  of  4.  The  first  or  infant  period  of  training  may 
Schoofto  the  thus  ^a^  ^nto  two  parts :  in  the  one,  the  family 
Ichoofand  is  the  on^  source  of  influence;  in  the  other, 
the  Common  the  child  may  be  subjected  also  to  the  influence 

School  in  e     *       •    r  *''**+  •  •<• 

respect  of  of  the  infant  school.  Custom  is  not  uniform  as 
con  side  i-he  to  tne  division  of  the  period.  It  is  well  under- 
^eternTine0*1  stood>  indeed,  that  the  infant  school  has  fulfilled 
this.  its  functions  to  the  child  at  six  and  a  half  or  seven 

years :  it  is  the  time  at  which  he  should  be  received  into  the 
infant  school  that  is  still  unsettled.  The  same  considerations 
which  make  the  whole  system  of  infant  schools  a  necessity, 
which  compel  the  teacher  to  take  the  child  off  the  parents' 
hands  at  all  before  the  end  of  infancy,  often  also  compel 
him  to  do  so  at  the  earliest  possible  period.  The  power  of 
education,  it  is  rightly  said,  is  inversely  as  the  age  of  the 
child ;  the  younger  he  is,  the  more  susceptible  is  he  of  ex- 
ternal influence ;  so  that  at  three  he  is  more  easily  moulded 
than  at  six  or  at  nine.  Who  would  surrender  the  infant  even 
of  two  to  the  influences  of  an  unblest  home  ?  What  teacher 
would  not  be  willing  to  take  the  child  even  at  that  age  from 
the  parent,  though  knowing  full  well  that  he  is  not  its  fittest 
guide  and  teacher,  when  he  reflects  on  the  destiny  to  which 
his  refusal  may  consign  it  ?  Yet  it  is  most  desirable  there 
should  be  an  understanding  as  to  the  limits  of  the  infant- 
school  period ;  nay,  quite  indispensable  to  the  success  of 
the  training ;  for  children  at  two  require  a  different  treat- 
ment from  those  of  four  or  of  six.  They  have  not  got  their 
senses  in  full  operation,  or  their  faculty  of  language  at  their 
command ;  they  are  little  more  than  physical  beings,  and 
they  need  a  physical  superintendence.  The  school  suited 
for  them  is  a  nursery ;  their  superintendent  should  be,  not  a 
teacher,  but  a  nurse.  The  separation  should  be  made,  if  for 
no  other  reason,  yet  for  this,  that  the  same  training  will  by 
no  means  prepare  proper  superintendents  for  both.  The 
most  suitable  age  for  admission  to  the  infant  school  seems 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

to  be  about  four  years,  certainly  not  under  three  and  a  half : 
which  may  be  thus  justified.  Before  a  child  can  be  profit- 
ably subjected  to  mental  exercise  of  the  least  continuous 
sort,  or  can  profitably  associate  with  others  like  itself,  it 
must  have  acquired  a  certain  range  of  notions,  a  certain  use 
of  its  outward  faculties  or  senses,  and  a  certain  power  over 
the  means  of  intercommunication  by  language.  Thus,  its  eye 
must  be  trained  to  distance,  its  ear  to  discriminate  sounds, 
its  hands  to  handle,  and  its  emotions  to  pleasure  and  pain. 
Without  this  the  teacher  has  no  means  of  communicating 
with  it;  a  state  which  is  quite  tolerable  and  regular  in  the 
family;  but  quite  unsuitable  to  the  large  group  of  children 
forming  the  infant  school.  At  the  age  of  three  and  a  half 
or  four,  the  child  has  got  a  sufficient  stock  of  fundamental 
experiences  to  enable  it  to  become  a  member  of  the  infant- 
school  society.  Children  below  this  age,  unable  perhaps  to 
speak,  or  walk,  or  observe  such  things  as  a  teacher  has  to 
show  them,  should  be  in  a  separate  seminary,  call  it  baby- 
school  or  nursery,  which  must  have  its  own  special  equip- 
ments. It  is  the  infant  school  as  now  limited  which  forms 
the  subject  of  this  treatise. 

Relation          5.  The  precise  relation  of  the  infant  school  to 
of  these  in     jts  precursor,  the  family  school,  on  the  one  hand, 

respect  01  J 

method.  and  to  the  common  school  on  the  other,  is  a  point 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  be  clearly  apprehended.  Did  we 
view  the  infant  school  as  only  a  branch  of  the  common  school, 
our  whole  notion  of  its  training  would  be  vitiated.  In  that 
case  the  same  branches  of  instruction  would  have  to  be 
taught  in  it,  the  same  development  of  the  individual  mind 
to  be  aimed  at;  and  the  great  recommendation  of  the  infant 
school  would  be  the  alacrity  and  closeness  with  which  it 
could  tread  on  the  heels  of  the  common  school  with  its  read- 
ing, its  ciphering,  its  grammar,  its  geography,  and  the  like. 
And,  worse  still,  that  radical  error,  which  has  vitiated  so 


22  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

many  efforts  in  infant  education,  the  confounding  of  educa- 
tion with  a  little  intellectual  instruction  so-called,  an  error 
which  threatened  to  choke  the  whole  system  when  it  had 
barely  seen  the  light,  would  be  confirmed  in  us,  to  the  utter 
perversion  of  our  labor.  ZlWe  are  tp  view  the  infant  school 
rather  as  falling  under  the  family  school ;  its  training,  so 
far  from  being  a  forestalling  of  the  work  of  the  common 
school,  as  bearing  the  image  of  the  family  trainingT^  Ac- 
cordingly, we  must  look  to  the  family  circle  for  many  of 
our  principles,  as  well  as  for  the  spirit  and  temper  of  our 
procedure.  The  enlightened  inspiration  of  the  mother  and 
the  science  of  the  infant-school  teacher  do  not  differ  materi- 
ally in  their  manifestations,  widely  as  they  differ  in  the  way 
by  which  the  principles  of  each  are  attained.  Shall  we  view 
this  agreement  as  an  disparagement  to  our  principles  ?  Nay, 
rather  let  us  view  it  as  their  confirmation  and  their  glory. 
If  we  were  to  say,  then,  that  the  result  of  the  infant  school 
is  to  place  its  numerous  occupants,  at  the  end  of  their  at- 
tendance on  it,  in  the  same  advantageous  circumstances  as 
those  in  which  they  would  have  been  found  had  they  en- 
joyed a  good  family-training  over  the  same  period,  we  shall 
not  indeed  be  stating  the  exact  truth,  but  we  shall  not  be 
very  far  from  the  truth.  That  is  the  design,  but  it  is  not 
fully  attainable ;  the  numbers  in  the  infant  school  prevent 
it  from  being  so.  There  are  not  the  same  means  as  in  the 
family  of  suiting  the  instruction  to  individual  capacity  and 
temperament ;  there  is  not  the  same  scope  for  the  spon- 
taneous manifestation  of  feeling  and  activity;  and  it  would 
perhaps  be  unfair  to  conceal  that  the  infant  school  does, 
necessarily  we  may  say,  contemplate  a  hastening  of  the 
child's  development  to  a  certain  small  extent  beyond  the 
limits  prescribed  by  the  laws  of  its  organic  growth.  This 
evil  we  would  willingly  avoid  were  we  not  prevented  by 
the  necessities  of  the  social  system  which  have  led  to  the 
establishment  of  such  institutions.  In  so  far  as  the  disad- 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

vantages  which  we  have  just  enumerated,  and  which  are 
inherent  in  its  whole  system,  will  allow,  the  infant  school 
must,  as  we  have  said,  model  itself  on  the  family  school. 

Necessity  6-  Let  lt  be  stated  again  that  the  infant  school, 
of  limiting  as  we  have  defined  it,  should  not  be  disturbed 
School  for  by  the  presence  of  foreign  elements ;  either  of 
tlncti^e  dlS"  children  under  the  age  for  joining  with  profit 
training.  jn  jts  exercjseSf  jn  which  case  it  partakes  of  the 
character  of  a  nursery  ;  or  of  children  above  the  proper  age, 
who  are  put  into  avowedly  to  be  hastened  on  in  their  read- 
ing so  as  to  enter  the  common  school  as  soon  as  possible,  in 
which  case  it  is  made  a  preparatory,  and  so  far  ceases  to  be 
an  infant,  school.  It  is  further  very  injurious  to  retain  in 
it  pupils  who  have  outgrown  it;  injurious  both  to  the 
school  and  the  pupils  themselves.  The  symptoms  of  their 
having  reached  this  stage  of  progress  are  easily  discernible. 
There  is  an  evident  flagging  of  interest  in  the  infantine  ex- 
ercises ;  their  bearing  towards  their  comrades  changes,  be- 
coming careless,  haughty,  calculating;  and  the  nature  and 
tone  of  their  questions  and  answers  betray  an  experience  of 
things  beyond  what  characterizes  the  infant.  All  these  cir- 
cumstances betoken  the  presence  of  a  degree  of  self-con- 
sciousness which  proclaims  that  they  are  now  ready  for  a 
more  advanced  discipline.  The  infant  school  has  diffi- 
culties enough  of  its  own  to  contend  with ;  let  us  have  it  in 
freedom  to  meet  these  at  full  advantage. 


24  EARLY  EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER   II. 

PHYSICAL    LAWS. 

Mutual  de-  ?•  OF  tne  principles  which  regulate  infant- 
pendence  of  school  education,  those  have  the  first  claim  on 

Body  ana 

Mind.  our  attention  which  direct  us  (i),  to  guide  the 

pupil's  health ;   and  (2),  to  maintain  unimpaired  the  hap- 
piness which  nature  has  provided  for  his  tender  state. 

The  part  of  the  bodily  frame  most  intimately  related  to  the 
mind  is  the  brain.  The  nature  of  the  relation  is  hidden  from 
us ;  but  of  the  fact  itself  there  are  the  clearest  proofs.  When 
the  brain  is  perfectly  formed,  intelligence  but  glimmers ;  as 
the  brain  progresses  in  organization,  the  light  of  intelligence 
grows  clearer :  when  the  brain  is  hurt  or  permanently  de- 
formed, the  light  is  dimmed  or  quenched.  The  brain  seems 
to  be  the  medium  through  which  mind  and  matter,  the  world 
within  and  the  world  without,  recognize  each  other.  Its 
function  is  to  receive  impressions  from  without,  raise  them 
into  consciousness,  and  so  present  them  to  the  mind ;  and,  in 
turn,  to  transmit  the  thoughts  and  wishes  of  the  mind  to  be 
carried  into  action  by  the  appropriate  bodily  organs.  They 
are  to  each  other  as  monarch  and  minister,  dependent  on 
each  other  for  activity ;  the  one  governing,  but  through  the 
other. 

f  8.  Infancy  is  the  period  in  which  the  brain  is 
the  Brain  in  only  attaining  its  full  organization.  If  not  quite 
complete  at  the  end  of  the  period,  it  is  compara- 
tively so  ;  this  much,  at  least,  is  certain,  that  it  has  grown  re- 
markably, and  that  its  size  relative  to  the  development  of 
the  other  bodily  organs  is  very  much  greater  than  in  the 


PHYSICAL  LAWS.  2$ 

adult.*  During  infancy,  then,  it  is  soft  in  texture,  very 
sensitive  and  irritable,  and  consequently  easily  injured ;  so 
that  everything  and  every  process  which  might  interfere 
with  its  natural  growth  must  be  scrupulously  avoided. 

9.  The  brain  is  acted  on  in  two  ways  ;  through 
BmfiTis^ct-  tne  body,  or  through  the  self-activity  of  the  mind, 
without*™"1  *n  t*ie  f°rmer  case,  impressions  are  conveyed  to 
it  through  the  nervous  system,  which  pervades 
the  entire  physical  structure.*  Different  nerves  have  their 
respective  functions,  as  the  nerves  of  sight  running  inwards 
from  the  eye,  of  hearing  from  the  ear,  of  feeling  from  all 
parts  of  the  surface  of  the  body.  These  convey  impressions 
to  the  brain,  and  so  call  it  into  action  whenever  suitable  ob- 
jects are  presented  to  them,  as  a  picture,  a  sound,  or  a  touch. 
Their  action  will  vary  in  intensity  with  the  strength  of  the 
stimulus,  and  must  be  strictly  guarded.  In  the  delicate  state 
of  the  infant  brain,  a  strong  glare  of  light  has  been  known 
to  impair  the  sight,  and  a  sudden  crash  to  injure  the  hear- 
ing. Suppose  that  in  the  infant  school  a  flood  of  light  pours 
in  on  the  faces  of  the  children,  or  that  their  eyes  are  strained 
to  follow  the  words  in  a  printed  lesson-book,  or  that  noise 
and  disorder  prevail  in  school,  aggravated  perhaps  by  the 
harsh  tones  of  the  teacher,  or  that  there  is  an  excessive 
crowding  of  the  children  together,  causing  uneasiness  and 
lassitude ; — in  these  circumstances  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  nerves  are  irritated,  and  that  the  atmosphere  of  the 
school  is  altogether  wanting  in  that  serenity  needed  for  the 
healthy  growth  of  the  brain.  And  it  is  to  be  specially 
noted  —  for  it  is  apt  to  be  overlooked  —  that  the  moral 
influences  at  work  on  the  children  may  produce  this  effect 
no  less  than  the  physical ;  indeed,  the  action  of  these  cannot 
at  this  period  be  separated.  A  prevalent  state  of  fretfulness 
or  of  fear  irritates  the  nervous  system,  and  through  it  the 
*  See  p.  195. 


26  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

brain ;  so  that  a  discipline  in  which  bad  temper  and  arbi- 
trary violence  are  elements  is  a  crime  committed  against 
the  child's  physical  as  well  as  moral  well-being. 

just  pro-  10.  The  brain  is  also  stimulated  through  the 
menta? exer-  self-activity  of  mind;  a  process  which  must  be 
amounVJlf  very  carefully  watched.  Successive  stages  of 
IeinSicathe  physic^  development  have  successive  phases  of 
primary  law  mental  working  corresponding  to  them.  The 

of  infant  ,     ° 

education,  natural  order  and  manner  of  these  mental  oper- 
ations cannot  be  departed  from  with  impunity.  Let  there 
be  in  the  infant  school,  contrary  to  all  the  indications  of  the 
child's  nature,  an  energetic  excitement  of  reflective  power, 
let  there  be  a  strong  pressure  put  upon  him  to  acquire 
knowledge,  as  an  adult  acquires  it,  by  reading,  or  let  even  his 
observation  be  taxed  beyond  his  power  of  attention,  the  re- 
sult must  of  necessity  be  injury  to  the  mind,  and  to  its  organ 
the  brain  ;  just  as  any  bodily  organ  is  injured  when  exercised 
beyond  the  limit  of  its  strength.  The  brain  does  not  bear 
out  such  mental  operations  ;  it  is  disturbed  ;  and  the  seeming 
operations  are  themselves  fallacious,  hollow,  unreal.  Infants 
may  be  urged  through  them  to  unhealthy  and  premature 
development,  as  plants  may  be  forced  in  a  hot-house.  But 
the  question  is  not,  whether  they  can  be  so,  but  whether  they 
should  be  so.  Present  bodily  injury,  perhaps  open  disease^ 
future  mental  mediocrity,  perhaps  imbecility,  are  the  inevita- 
ble consequences  of  perseverance  in  this  system.  Infantine 
precocity  is  not  the  path  to  eminence  in  manhood  ;  few  who 
have  been  its  victims  have  reached,  fewer  still  gone  beyond, 
mediocrity ;  the  melancholy  majority  have  had  the  light  both 
of  mind  and  of  life  quenched  ere  they  arrived  at  mature 
years.  In  the  school  the  effects  of  the  forcing  system  may 
not  lead  to  these  serious  results,  as  its  action  is  spread  over 
a  wide  surface ;  but  this  does  not  remove,  though  it  may 
lessen,  its  pernicious  tendency. 


PHYSICAL  LAWS.  2J 

Weii-regu-  11.  In  what  has  been  said,  it  is  not  implied 
SSSSiJ^to  that  the  child  is  not  to  have  regular  exertion, 
the  healthy  Absolute  quiescence,  either  of  bodily  or  mental 

growth  ot  the 

brain.  function,  leads  to  stagnation  and  weakness  of  the 

organ.  It  is  frequent,  regular,  well-proportioned  exercise, 
while  the  organ  is  yet  growing,  that  matures  its  organization, 
and  gives  it  power  as  well  as  the  disposition  to  activity.  So 
far  from  mental  action  being  in  itself  injurious  to  the  infant, 
it  is  as  necessary  to  its  physical  growth  and  well-being  as 
physical  activity  is  to  mental.*  In  point  of  fact,  the  intense 
activity  which  marks  the  infant  state,  though  it  appears  to 
us  as  merely  animal  vivacity,  is  based  on  its  mental  activity. 

influence  ^  We  have  dwelt  hitherto  on  the  state  of  the 
bodne  orhans ^ram  m  infancy;  because  the  laws  which  it  sug- 
on  infant  gests  are,  of  all  the  laws  of  physical  education, 
those  which  most  strongly  influence  the  teacher's 
work.  But  the  state  of  the  whole  bodily  frame  must  be  at- 
tended to :  it  is  weak,  and,  so  far  as  it  falls  within  the  teach- 
er's province  to  do  so,  he  must  do  what  he  can  to  strengthen 
it.  The  elements  of  its  growth  are  proper  food,  pure  air  and 
sufficient  light,  and  adequate  exercise.  The  first  lies  entire- 
ly beyond  his  cognizance  :  the  second  and  third  are  partially 
within  it.  The  infant  is  very  susceptible  of  injury  from  im- 
pure air  and  imperfect  light ;  whilst  the  absence  of  motion 
will  reduce  it  to  a  state  of  languor  incompatible  with  any 
mental  exercise  whatever.*  In  the  case  of  adult  persons  it 
is  recognized  that  voluntary  motion  is  necessary  to  give  a 
proper  impulse  and  tone  to  the  performance  of  the  vital 
functions.  Instinct  supplies  the  place  of  will  in  the  infant ; 
in  his  restless,  ever-varied  motion  we  see  a  provision  of  na- 
ture for  his  healthy  growth.  If  then  in  school  we  take  from 
him  to  a  great  extent  his  power  of  spontaneous  locomotion, 
we  must  compensate  for  it  with  periods  of  exercise  both  in 
school  and  out  of  it ;  and  the  younger  the  child,  the  more  of 


28  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

this  does  he  require.  The  more  delicate  the  susceptibility, 
the  greater  is  the  effect  produced  by  any  violation  of  the 
laws  of  health.  The  whole  mental  activity  of  the  infant  is 
often  brought  to  a  standstill  by  some  slight  and  easily  pre- 
vented physical  inconvenience.  It  can  hardly  be  necessary 
to  add  that,  as  the  infant  is  liable  to  more  sudden  fluctua- 
tions of  health  than  the  adult,  the  symptoms  of  these  should 
be  known  by  the  teacher  ;  otherwise  the  child's  conduct  will 
be  often  misconstrued. 

The  extern-     ^'  ^  'IS  fortunate  that  all  the  symptoms  of  un- 
ai  symptoms  healthy  physical  action  are  so  easily  discernible 

of  mental  and  J   *•     J  J 

bodily  un-      to  any  one  who   looks  for   them,     The  child's 

easiness.  .  .  ,  .    , 

countenance  is  a  mirror  on  which  are  reflected 
all  the  clouds  which  pass  over  its  mind.  Every  sensation 
received  by  the  brain  marks  its  traces  there ;  ease  and  dis- 
comfort, excitement  and  languor,  happiness  and  misery,  in- 
telligence and  perplexity,  health  and  sickness,  irritation  and 
serenity,  may  be  read  there  with  but  slight  experience,  in 
"  the  paleness  and  blush,  the  frowns  and  smiles,  the  tears 
and  bursts  of  laughter,  the  sighs  and  cries,  the  changes  of 
countenances  and  inflections  of  the  voice  which  are  the  nat- 
ural signs  of  the  desires,  emotions,  and  thoughts  within." 
The  countenances  of  the  children  are  the  compass  by  which 
the  teacher  must  steer  his  course.  He  should  know  how 
to  read  its  indications,  and  should  keep  a  vigilant  eye  on  its 
changes ;  he  may  read  there  both  of  the  passing  breeze  and 
of  the  settled  storm.* 


THE  LAW   OF  HAPPINESS.  29 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE  LAW  OF  HAPPINESS. 

Nature  in-       14-  NEXT  to  the  law  of  life  and  health,  we  must 
tends  the       consider  the  law  of  happiness.     The  two  are  in- 

penods  of  in-  r* 

fancy  and       timately  bound  up  with  each  other;  for  in  infan- 

childhood  to          .....  .  v,  ....  ,       .  . 

be  periods  of  cy  life  is  happiness.  Nature  plainly  intends  this 
njoyment.  carjy  pcriod  to  be  one  of  enjoyment ;  she  scatters 
the  flowers  round  the  child's  path  in  boundless  wealth.  Just 
as  by  the  impulses  of  instinct  she  provides  that  infinite  motion 
needed  for  life  and  health  (§  12)  which  the  adult  must  owe  to 
his  own  free  will,  so  does  she  secure  to  the  child,  who  cannot 
yet  choose  for  itself,  a  proportion  of  happiness,  acute  if  not 
deep,  ever-recurring  if  not  steadily  uniform,  such  as  the  adult 
cannot  hope  for  without  constant  forethought,  watchfulness, 
and  self-denial.  Temporary  pains  it  has;  but  a  continuous- 
ly painful  state,  a  settled  care,  is  unknown  to  it.  With  admir- 
able elasticity  it  throws  off  a  load  of  grief  which  would  seem 
at  first  about  to  rend  its  heart.*  The  child's  happiness  is 
spontaneous  ;  it  is  not  dependent  even  on  its  parents.  It  ex- 
tracts joy  from  everything  around  it  which  stimulates  its 
senses.  "  Pleased  with  a  rattle,  tickled  with  a  straw,"  is  not 
less  a  poetical  than  a  philosophically  accurate  statement  of  its 
case.  For  it  decks  the  veriest  trifles  in  all  the  colors  of  its 
active  fancy,  which  change  with  every  change  of  posture ;  so 
that  life  is  a  panorama  of  endless  length.  Leave  the  child 
alone  within  reach  of  anything  it  can  handle,  a  stone,  a  bit 
of  stick,  or  of  paper ;  what  pleasant  work  it  makes  for  itself ! 
how  it  turns  and  tosses  them,  for  an  hour  together !  how  in- 
*  See  p.  195. 


30  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

dependent  it  is,  how  little  it  needs  our  help  for  its  enjoyment ! 
Watch  it  in  the  fields,  the  garden,  the  street,  by  the  sea-side, 
the  river,  or  the  wood  ;  it  looks,  and  touches,  and  wonders, 
and  shouts,  even  in  a  delirium  of  delight.  And  you  must 
look,  and  touch,  and  wonder,  and  shout  along  with  it ;  it  will 
compel  you ;  everything  must  be  happiness  around  it.  Put 
it  with  companions  whom  it  knows  (§  19);  they  scrutinize 
and  work  with  each  other  just  as  they  treat  things.  The  first 
feeling  of  strangeness  worn  off,  they  read  each  other's  looks, 
and  feel  each  other's  experiences.  Pass  through  a  group  of 
them  when  thus  absorbed,  and  they  will  turn  on  you,  fasten 
perhaps  on  your  hands  or  your  dress,  dance  before  you,  jump 
after  you  ;  so  that  you  shall  not  avoid  seeing  that  they  are 
happy,  and  are  making  you  subservient  to  their  further  en- 
joyment. Let  it  be  in  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances 
— would  that  these  were  less  common  ! — in  circumstances 
which  make  mature  years  miserable ;  let  it  be  besmeared 
with  the  dirt,  or  pallid  with  the  sickliness  of  our  lanes  and 
alleys,  its  natural  joyousness  still  struggles  through.  It  is 
happy  even  in  its  rags :  these  are  not  to  it,  what  they  are  to 
us,  the  signs  of  misery.  While  we  wonder  at  the  incongruity 
between  its  external  circumstances  and  its  feelings,  we  can- 
not but  admire  the  beneficence  of  the  great  law  of  infant 
happiness. 

Benefits  of  15-  We  mav  wel1  suppose  that  this  lavish  dis- 
sionpr°vi"  tribution  of  happiness  over  "the  budding  time 
of  life  "  is  for  wise  purposes,  and  we  can  see  that 
it  is.  The  calm  serenity  that  springs  from  it  is  not  less 
necessary  to  sound  physical  growth  than  it  is  to  all  mental 
and  moral  training.  On  the  one  hand,  the  constant  pres- 
ence of  irritation  excites  the  nervous  system,  and  is  thus  the 
germ  of  bad  temper ;  on  the  other,  when  the  heart  is  thus 
preoccupied  with  some  strong  affection,  there  is  no  room 
to  foster  in  it  that  principle  of  love  on  which  all  moral  train- 


THE  LAW  OF  HAPPINESS.  31 

ing  rests,  or  any  of  those  generous  feelings  which  will  in  due 
time  grow  into  virtues.  Then  as  to  mental  training,  suppose 
the  ends  of  it  could  be  attained  under  such  conditions,  their 
value  would  be  a  poor  compensation  for  moral  deformity ; 
but  they  are  not  attainable ;  settled  discomfort  preying  on 
the  child's  feelings  will  twist  altogether  its  mental  action. 
Let  the  child  dwell  face  to  face  with  misery,  and  its  rational 
nature  drinks  the  cup  of  poison  ere  it  awakes  to  the  full  con- 
sciousness of  life.  We  shall  see  plainly  discernible  in  the 
looks  and  actions  of  the  youth  and  of  the  man  malignity  of 
temper,  deadness  of  feeling,  low  cunning,  and  unscrupulous- 
ness  ;  nothing  ingenuous,  nothing  benign,  nothing  really 
intelligent  do  we  discover.  And  he  shall  want  that  beauti- 
ful and  elevating  ideal  of  happiness,  the  great  legacy  which 
childhood  leaves  to  manhood,  which  at  once  prompts  our 
strivings  after  happiness  in  life,  and  is  the  emblem  of  a  purer 
happiness  hereafter.  We  have  seen  the  plant  blighted  when 
the  biting  frost  nips  its  sensitive  shoots  :  such  is  childhood 
passed  under  the  wintry  gloom  of  misery  instead  of  the  sun- 
shine of  happiness. 

Practical         ^'  The  practical  consequence  of  these  con- 
influence  of    siderations  is  not  too  strongly  expressed,  when  it 

this  consider-  °  J 

ation  on  early  is  said,  "  that  what  the  Creator,  in  his  beneficence, 

education.  .    .    .     .  , 

plainly  intends,  we  are  bound  by  all  means  in  our 
power  to  promote  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  it  is  nothing  else 
than  a  religious  duty  to  make  the  happiness  of  infancy  and 
childhood  our  main  care  in  whatever  relates  to  early  educa- 
tion." *  Parents  and  teachers  zealously  profess  to  do  this ; 
but,  as  experience  shows,  their  zeal  is  not  always  according 
to  knowledge.  The  only  education  which  carries  the  child's 
happiness  along  with  it  is  that  which  consists  in  the  judicious 
prompting  and  regulating  of  its  natural  activity.  The  direc- 
tions of  this  activity  we  are  not  to  determine  from  our  own 
speculations ;  we  must  allow  nature  to  teach  us,  and  we 


3  2  EARL  Y  ED  UCA  T10N. 

must  seek  for  her  teaching  by  observing  the  infant  charac- 
ter. In  the  family  circle  the  child's  happiness  is  perhaps 
most  frequently  thwarted  by  the  excess  of  affection  over 
knowledge  in  the  parents,  which  leads  them  to  insist  that  it 
shall  occupy  itself  in  their  way  instead  of  in  its  own.  In  the 
infant  school,  the  causes  that  tend  to  this  result  are  more 
varied,  though  individually  less  intense,  in  their  operation. 
They  are  of  two  kinds,  moral  and  professional.  To  the 
former  belong  faults  of  temper  and  disposition  in  the 
teacher.  If  he  be  gloomy,  morose,  fretful,  inconstant,  unin- 
terested in  their  pleasures,  continually  saying  "  No !"  the 
children  cannot  feel  at  ease.  They  feel  the  depressing  influ- 
ence, not  only  directly,  when  they  come  in  contact  with  him- 
self, but  indirectly  in  their  intercourse  with  each  other ;  for 
the  class  is  a  mirror  which  will  faithfully  reflect  the  temper 
of  its  guide.  If,  however,  there  be  no  lack  of  cheerful 
temper  and  bearing,  and  the  children  still  come  short  of  the 
happiness  they  should  feel,  we  must  look  for  the  fault  to  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  engaged.  Though  we  do  not  give 
the  child  its  happiness,  we  can  very  easily  vex  it.  It  is 
naturally  active,  intensely  active :  if  we  choke  up  the  chan- 
nels of  its  activity,  if  we  refuse  it  the  means  of  activity,  and 
condemn  it  to  sit  in  harassing  quiescence,  we  shall  make  it 
miserable.  On  the  other  hand,  we  may  misdirect  its  activ- 
ity :  we  may  turn  its  energies  out  of  their  natural  course 
into  one  devised  by  ourselves.  And  we  may  think  its 
hilarity  and  its  freaks  useless,  a  waste  of  time,  and  set  it  to 
tasks  which  we  judge  more  rational,  instructive,  becoming. 
This  strained  work  has  no  attractions  for  it  however.  The 
child  cannot  be  happy  when  treated  as  a  little  man.  We 
cannot,  of  course,  in  the  infant  school  give  it  the  same  scope 
for  that  spontaneous  motion  which  is  the  chief  charm  of  its 
early  activity  in  the  family  ;  and  we  must  accustom  it  some- 
what to  the  idea  of  work.  Without  losing  sight  of  this  idea, 
without  confounding  work  with  amusement  by  pretending 


SOCIAL  CHARACTER   OF  THE  INFANT  SCHOOL.       33 

them  to  be  the  same, — a  pretence  neither  truthful  nor  pru- 
dent,— we  may  still  make  its  work  interesting,  by  observing 
what  it  delights  in.  If  we  give  it  room  for  the  exercise  of 
such  powers  as  it  possesses,  it  will  only  be  too  glad  to  exer- 
cise them.  We  must  maintain  the  child's  activity  as  the 
very  soul  of  our  operations ;  so  shall  we  maintain  its  happi- 
ness. If  the  exigencies  of  society  make  it  advantageous 
that  it  should  surrender  in  part  its  natural  liberty  to  us,  we 
should  let  it  feel  the  restraint  as  little  as  possible.  If  we 
take  from  it  its  happiness,  what  have  we  to  give  it  as  equiv- 
alent ?  Not  our  laws,  our  wisdom,  our  pleasures,  or  even 
our  anxieties  on  its  account.* 


CHAPTER   IV. 

SOCIAL  CHARACTER  OF    THE  INFANT  SCHOOL. 

A  good  so-  I?.  THE  most  obvious  peculiarity  of  the  infant 
nKessartioto  scno°^  *s  tnat  tne  child  is  educated  in  it  not  indivi- 
the  child's  dually  but  as  the  member  of  a  numerous  society. 
andPeduca-  We  know  the  almost  boundless  influence  which 
children  have  upon  each  other,  especially  when 
they  are  of  the  same  standing  and  engaged  in  the  same  pur- 
suits. It  is  a  power  in  the  school  as  great  as  that  of  the 
teacher  himself.  Where  it  is  exercised  to  promote  the  com- 
mon comfort,  the  circumstances  of  the  school  are  favorable 
to  the  child's  happiness ;  where  used  with  an  opposite 
design,  there  is  a  blank  in  his  happiness  which  nothing  can 
supply.  Children  suffer  no  misery  like  that  which  they  de- 
liberately inflict  on  each  other,  when  actuated  by  the  spirit 
of  mischief.  Our  provision  for  the  child's  happiness  is  in- 
complete, therefore,  till  we  have  considered  the  social  aspect 


34  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

of  the  school.     Unless  this  be  healthy,  moral  training  is  im- 
possible. 

18.  Whatever  be  the  circle  in  which  the  child 
in  fami°yer  is  being  educated,  a  good  social  relation  must  be 
nmg<  cherished.  It  is  the  presence  of  this  that  gives 
the  family  training  much  of  its  power.  For  how  does  it  act? 
The  love  and  the  authority  which  conjointly  preside  over  it 
lead  to  mutual  affection  and  confidence  amongst  the  mem- 
bers of  the  little  circle.  Each  one  has  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  his  comrades,  and  is  known  of  them,  so  that  he  acts 
without  any  sense  of  restraint  or  need  of  fear,  knowing  the 
good  disposition  of  all  towards  himself.  There  is  thus  pro- 
duced a  natural  freedom  and  a  transparency,  which  show  the 
child  as  he  really  is,  and  which  give  ample  opportunity  to  the 
parent  for  confirming  the  right  and  correcting  the  wrong. 
Such  is  the  state  of  a  well-regulated  family;  indeed  the 
extent  to  which  this  state  is  present  may  be  taken  as  the 
test  of  the  moral  discipline  prevailing  in  it.  If  this  be  not  the 
social  aspect  of  the  family,  it  is  greatly  stripped  of  its  train- 
ing power.  For  it  has  been  rightly  said  that  to  bring  up  the 
children  of  a  family  as  separate  individuals  instead  of  as  a 
community,  by  supplying  the  wants  of  each  in  such  a  way  as 
to  render  each  independent  of  the  other,  by  giving  separate 
occupations  and  places  to  each,  and  so  recognizing  no  com- 
mon feelings  and  wants,  is  a  sure  way  to  drive  back  into  the 
breast  all  the  generous  feelings,  and  to  draw  forth  selfish- 
ness in  their  place.  The  considerations  now  urged  may  be 
thought  to  show  that  a  single  child  in  a  family  is  not  in  such 
favorable  circumstances  for  education  as  when  he  is  one  of 
a  number. 

Method  of  ^'  Much  more  is  a  good  social  relation  to  be 
establishing  cherished  in  the  infant  school  in  proportion  to 
t  in  school.  feeling  to  act> 


SOCIAL   CHARACTER  OF  THE  INFANT  SCHOOL.       35 

When  the  infant  leaves  that  smaller  circle,  which  had,  as  we 
may  suppose,  one  mind  and  heart,  in  which  he  was  less  a 
unit  than  an  integral  part,  whose  members  sympathized 
with  him  and  appreciated  him,  and  were  not  given  to  balance 
their  interests  very  scrupulously  against  his  or  to  be  very 
exacting  of  their  rights  from  him  ;  he  joins  this  larger  circle 
of  strangers,  beings  like  himself,  who  may  in  their  various 
home-circles  have  had  equal  attentions  lavished  on  them, 
whose  interests  are  different  from  his,  it  may  be,  opposed  to 
them.  He  is  now  but  one  of  a  group  of  equals.  It  is  clear 
there  must  be  an  adjustment  of  mutual  rights  and  duties. 
He  finds  everything  new ;  he  has  no  room  for  that  unre- 
strained interchange  of  feeling,  that  mutual  identification  to 
which  he  has  been  accustomed.  Strangeness  and  distrust 
beset  him ;  even  suspicion  and  fear.  These  must  be  cast 
out;  he  cannot  be  educated  whilst  he  thus  shrinks  within 
himself,  locking  up  his  affections  within  his  own  breast. 
This  can  be  done  only  by  introducing  the  contrary  principle 
of  love.  "  There  is  no  fear  in  love  ;  but  perfect  love  casteth 
out  fear."  Love  implies  confidence,  and  confidence  implies 
experience  and  knowledge  of  the  society  in  which  he  is 
placed.  If  the  infant  remain  apart  then,  or  even  if  he  con- 
tinue the  member  of  one  small  fraction  of  the  society,  a  class 
of  six  or  seven,  he  does  not  gain  the  experience  he  is  in  need 
of.  His  weakness  and  fear  continue.  He  sees  strength 
about  him,  and  perhaps  affection  too,  but  he  knows  not  how 
they  regard  him,  and  how  he  is  to  regard  them.  The  whole 
society  must  be  subjected  to  simultaneous  impression,  feel- 
ing, and  action.  All  the  members  of  it  must  come  in  con- 
tact ;  must  respond  to  the  same  impulses  ;  be  conscious  of 
certain,  the  same,  labors  ;  feel  the  same  kind  of  dependence ; 
be  thrilled  with  the  same  hopes  ;  enjoy  the  same  rewards. 
How  can  the  teacher  establish  this  community  of  heart  but 
by  gathering  them  all  before  him,  addressing  them  all  as 
having  an  equal  interest  in  his  care  and  love  ;  binding  them 


36  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

to  each  other  by  binding  each  to  himself ;  stimulating  their 
minds  into  gentle,  natural  action  on  the  same  subjects  that 
interest  all ;  carrying  their  observation  and  imagination 
along  the  same  track,  and  getting  them  to  supply  each 
other's  defects  according  as  the  temperament  and  circum- 
stances of  each  enable  him  ;  making  them  engage  in  the 
same  physical  actions,  of  which  prompt  harmony  is  the  very 
soul ;  shedding  in  upon  their  consciences  the  same  sacred 
light  of  moral  and  religious  truth,  and  calling  them  all  to 
judge  of  the  actions  that  occur  every  day  within  their  own 
little  circle?  By  this  oft-repeated  simultaneousness  of 
thought,  action,  and  emotion,  the  mass  becomes  welded 
together,  takes  on  one  stamp,  breathes  one  spirit.  Each 
becomes  familiar  with  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  society; 
the  confidence  and  self-abandonment  of  home  are  repro- 
duced ;  the  child's  heart  is  again  opened.  This  is  that  state 
of  feeling  so  much  spoken  of  as  "the  sympathy  of  numbers," 
a  conventional  expression,  but  one  which  indicates  what  is, 
in  the  first  instance,  an  absolute  necessity  to  any  training  at 
all,  and  what,  when  established,  is  a  lever  of  irresistible 
power  in  the  hands  of  him  who  can  wield  it.*  When  the 
school  collectively  has  come  to  have  a  soul  which  the 
teacher  knows  how  to  stir  up,  when  he  can  lay  his  hand 
upon  its  pulse  and  feel  how  it  beats,  then  has  he  training 
power;  not  otherwise.  It  should  be  well  noted  that  this 
training  power  is  not  a  thing  resident  in  the  teacher  alone  ; 
it  lies  in  the  society  which  forms  the  school.  The  teacher's 
duty  is  to  form  it  and  guide  it.  It  is  a  power  capable  of 
great  things  ;  available  in  every  direction  of  activity ;  at 
once  the  stimulus  and  the  guide  to  progress.  And  when  in 
the  exercise  of  his  prerogative  he  brings  it  to  bear  on  the 
faults  or  excellencies  of  the  pupil,  it  is  instantly  felt  and  ac- 
knowledged. The  effort  to  acquire  it  is  the  teacher's  first 
trial,  the  establishment  of  it  his  great  triumph,* 


SOCIAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  INFANT  SCHOOL.       37 

simuitane-  20.  Such  is  the  foundation  of  that  simulta- 
necessi\ionof  neous  action  with  which,  under  the  name  of 
the  infant  collective  lessons  or  gallery  lessons,  we  are  so 
familiar  in  the  infant  school.  We  thus  see  that 
it  does  not  rest  on  the  ground  of  expediency  alone.  It  is 
not  adopted  because  it  is  a  convenient  means  of  occupying 
all  the  children,  whom  there  would  otherwise  be  difficulty 
in  finding  employment  for  from  lack  of  assistance ;  for  it 
prevails  where  these  are  present  in  abundance.  Nor  is  it 
adopted  to  save  time ;  for,  though  it  does  economize  time 
to  give  a  lesson  to  eighty  or  a  hundred  at  once  instead  of 
taking  different  sections  in  succession,  it  prevails  where 
there  is  ample  time  to  spare.  It  rests  on  the  higher  ground 
of  necessity,  it  is  of  the  very  essence  of  the  infant-school 
system,  springing  immediately  from  the  root  of  it,  and  em- 
bodying a  first  principle  of  its  existence. 

Exercises  ^'  This  simultaneous  action  is  a  very  large 
in  which  it  is  part  of  the  whole  action  of  the  school,  perhaps 
one-half.  It  includes,  as  has  been  already  indi- 
cated and  as  will  be  shown  in  detail  afterwards,  various 
kinds  of  lessons  and  exercises.  Wherever  the  common  na- 
ture and  common  intelligence  of  the  children  are  to  be 
brought  into  play,  simultaneous  action  is  the  proper  medi- 
um ;  exercises  of  attainment,  on  the  other  hand,  in  which 
the  child  is  acquiring  some  instrumentary  branch  of  knowl- 
edge, require  sectional  and,  as  much  as  possible,  individual 
action.  Such  is  the  principle  of  distinction. 


3&  JBA&LY  EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER   V. 

INTELLECTUAL    TRAINING  —  THE     SENSES    OR    PERCEPTIVE 
FACULTY. 


of^knowi^  22.  ALL  education  must  proceed  upon  a 
prfnecl?pfiesof  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  those  who  are  to  be 

§ideUTeacher°  subjected  to  lt'      For   now  can  lt  pretend  tO  Cul- 

and  how  it  is  tivate  that  of  which  it  knows  nothing  ?  It 
tainedat"  might  recognize  certain  faculties  in  operation, 
but  others  which  ought  to  be  active,  yet  are  dormant,  it 
would  not  notice  ;  it  would  meet  with  obstacles  to  progress 
which  it  could  not  remove,  errors  of  conduct  to  which  it 
could  apply  no  remedy;  it  would  give  the  preference  to 
these  motives  which  we  most  easily  obey,  rather  than  to 
the  highest.  Its  method,  not  founded  on  any  principles, 
would  be  a  thing  of  accident  ;  at  best  a  combination  of  ex- 
pedients with  no  consciousness  of  one  purpose  ;  if  right  at 
any  time,  right  only  by  chance;  most  probably  a  confusion 
of  methods,  undoing  at  one  time  what  is  doing  at  another; 
feeble  and  irregular,  as  wanting  both  the  power  to  mould 
and  the  beauty  to  attract.  Mere  empirical  teaching,  it  is 
true,  may  not  be  altogether  barren;  by  closely  following 
prescribed  laws  we  may  do  much  good.  But  we  must  do 
very  much  less  than  if  we  comprehended  the  ground  and 
spirit  of  these  laws  ;  whilst  many  cases  must  arise  which 
the  prescription  does  not  provide  for.  Besides,  making 
every  concession,  it  is  surely  better  to  be  a  conscious  than 
an  unconscious  agent  ;  to  be  rationally  adapting  means  to 
end  in  our  profession,  than  following  a  routine  which  we  do 
not  understand,  however  much  we  have  faith  in  it.  Nor, 
in  urging  the  infant-school  teacher,  amongst  others,  to  ac- 


INTELLECTUAL    TRAINING.  39 

quire  some  knowledge  of  the  nature  which  in  so  tender  a 
state  is  committed  to  his  care,  do  we  make  any  unreason- 
able demand.  He  may  not  plead  in  bar  of  this  claim  the 
youthfulness  of  his  charge;  this  rather  strengthens  it,  since 
earliest  influences  are  the  strongest,  and  had  therefore  need 
to  be  correct.  A  scientific  knowledge  is  not  necessary ;  it 
is  not  the  business  of  education  to  investigate  or  speculate 
on  the  nature  of  man.  It  rejects  all  that  is  uncertain,  and 
all  that  has  no  practical  bearing ;  it  looks  to  mental  science 
for  well-established  results,  not  concerning  itself  with  the 
means  by  which  these  are  obtained.  A  moderate  degree 
of  study  will  give  him  all  the  knowledge  of  this  sort  that  he 
needs ;  whilst  a  moderate  amount  of  observation  and  ex- 
perience will  enable  him  to  verify  it. 


23.  The  five  senses  of  sight,  hearing,  touch, 
an^re^aUve'  taste,  and  smell,  are  of  very  unequal  importance 
o7tPh°ersTnCses. in  tlie  intellectual  economy,  some  contributing 
much  more  to  our  stock  of  mental  images  than 
others.  The  impressions  made  on  the  mind  by  each  of 
them  are  perhaps  equally  vivid  at  the  time.  Thus  the  taste 
of  salt,  or  the  smell  of  a  rose,  is  as  definite  as  the  handling 
of  a  sponge,  the  hearing  of  a  sound,  or  the  sight  of  a  tree. 
But  the  impressions  of  taste  and  smell  are  hardly  to  be  re- 
called by  the  mind  apart  from  the  objects  that  cause  them, 
however  familiar  these  objects  may  be ;  more  easily,  still 
not  vividly,  do  we  recall  abstractedly  the  impressions  of 
touch,  whilst  those  of  hearing  and  of  sight  come  back  on 
the  mind,  in  the  absence  of  the  objects,  with  remarkable 
clearness.  Sight,  especially,  has  this  property;  which, 
taken  in  conjunction  with  the  greater  scope  there  is  for  the 
activity  of  this  sense,  makes  it  the  largest  contributor  of  all 
to  the  materials  of  our  thought.*  If  we  think  of  a  rose,  or 
of  salt,  or  anything  in  which  the  smell  or  the  taste  is  the 


40  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

most  prominent  attribute,  we  are  not  indeed  quite  uncon- 
scious of  either  of  these,  but  it  is  not  by  them  that  we  sum- 
mon the  object  before  us.  It  is  the  object  as  perceived  by 
the  sight  that  instantaneously  presents  itself.  A  classifica- 
tion of  the  senses  presents  them  in  three  groups :  there  are 
first  the  lower  senses  of  taste  and  smell,  which  have  been 
described  as  "  practical  rather  than  theoretic,  subserving 
the  most  important  purposes  in  the  economy  of  animal 
life,  providing  pleasures  as  well  as  selecting  suitable  susten- 
tation  for  the  body,  aiming,  in  brief,  at  our  physical  comfort 
and  welfare,  rather  than  the  development  of  our  intellectual 
nature."  Sight  and  hearing  form  a  second  pair,  "  which 
stand  more  closely  connected  than  the  others  with  the  in- 
tellectual powers,  so  that  they  fix  the  mind's  attention  more 
directly  upon  the  object  affecting  them,  and  make  us  less 
sensible  of  the  corporeal  affection  apart  from  the  objective 
cause."  *  The  remaining  sense  of  touch  is  peculiar,  in  that 
it  combines  the  characters  of  both  the  pairs  already  men- 
tioned, and  can,  to  a  great  extent,  supply  their  place.  Its 
two  modes  of  activity  must  be  distinguished  :  the  one  is  the 
voluntary  exercise  of  touch,  which  is  really  an  intellectual 
operation,  designed  to  acquire  an  idea  of  an  object;  the 
other  is  the  passive,  or  receptive,  exercise  of  feeling,  with- 
out, it  may  be,  either  design  or  even  accompanying  will. 
The  one  ranks  with  the  higher,  the  other  with  the  lower 
senses.*  The  conceptions  which  in  early  years  the  mind 
forms  through  the  former  or  muscular-tactual  sense  (as  it 
has  been  termed  for  distinction's  sake)  are  very  numerous. 
It  will  be  evident  from  the  foregoing  considerations  that  in 
education  it  is  the  three  senses  of  sight,  hearing,  and  touch 
in  its  limited  sense,  with  which  we  are  chiefly  concerned ; 
and  this  conclusion,  which  we  arrive  at  from  their  relation 
to  our  conceptions  (as  will  appear  more  fully  in  the  next 
chapter),  might  be  drawn  in  another  way,  namely,  from  the 
consideration  that  these  are  the  senses  which  alone  the 


INTELLECTUAL    TRAINING.  41 

teacher  has  the  means  of  regularly  training  in  early  educa- 
tion. 

Exercise  of  24.  That  the  exercise  of  the  senses  is  great 
iaregeepartsof  Part  °* the  work  °f  earlv  intellectual  education, 
early  educa-  appears  from  two  considerations.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  through  them  that  consciousness 
first  arises  in  the  child  :  otherwise  expressed,  they  are  the 
link  by  which  merely  physical  activity  is  joined  to  mental, 
and  in  their  action  we  discover  the  first  indications  of  the 
child's  intelligent  constitution.  It  seems  to  be  quite  cor- 
rect to  say  that  the  first  harmony  he  perceives  between 
sight  and  touch,  the  first  verification  of  the  one  by  the 
other,  is  the  birth  of  his  intellect.  In  the  second  place,  in 
the  exercise  of  the  senses  the  infant  finds  in  great  part  his 
natural  activity  ;  they  are  the  platform  on  which  his  whole 
mind  acts  during  this  period,  the  starting-point  for  all  the 
trains  of  thought  he  indulges  in,  and  the  terminus  to  which 
these  all  return.  Follow  him  in  imagination  for  a  day; 
what  use  does  he  make  of  his  freedom  ?  He  has  got  some- 
thing in  hand,  a  stone  or  a  bit  of  paper,  or  anything  else, 
which  for  the  time  is  his  property,  to  be  looked  at  and 
turned,  set  up  or  thrown  down  as  he  wills,  and  which  his 
rich  fancy  has  made  a  thing  of  value  and  interest  for  him. 
Or  he  associates  with  some  animal,  or  he  handles  some 
flower,  or  some  shell,  or  some  familiar  domestic  object, 
noticing  with  evident  curiosity  their  various  properties  of 
number,  color,  form,  size,  and  the  like.  He  observes  in- 
tensely: such  is  his  instinct.  Thus  the  development  of  his 
senses  goes  on  rapidly ;  so  that,  when  he  presents  himself 
to  us  at  four  years  of  age  for  education,  he  is  in  full  posses- 
sion of  them,  has  a  considerable  knowledge  of  things 
already  acquired  through  them,  can  recognize  what  we  sub- 
mit to  them,  and  is  fond  of  using  them  from  the  scope  they 
give  to  his  activity. 


42  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

25.  The  senses,  like  all  our  functions,  may  be 

The  object 

of  their  cuiti-  carried  to  a  nigh  pitch  of  perfection  by  exercise, 
frequent  and  long-continued.  One  man  can 
discern  objects  in  the  horizon  where  to  another  nothing  is 
distinguishable,  as  the  seaman  a  vessel,  or  the  trapper  his 
game ;  one  man  recognizes,  as  musical,  sounds  so  high  or 
so  low  that  to  another  they  are  mere  noise,  or  a  difference 
between  sounds  which  to  the  general  ear  appear  identical ; 
whilst  another  will,  by  his  finger-points,  pronounce  most 
unequal  and  unpolished  a  surface  which  to  ordinary  ob- 
servers seems  perfectly  smooth.*  No  one  regards  such 
power  as  the  end  of  the  cultivation  of  the  senses  in  elemen- 
tary education ;  it  is  the  result  of  professional  education, 
just  as  much  as  it  is  so  for  the  mechanic  to  have  skill  with 
his  tools.  The  culture  of  the  senses  presents  two  aspects, 
which  we  must  discriminate.  According  to  the  one,  the 
end  in  view  is  to  increase  their  power  or  acuteness ;  ac- 
cording to  the  other,  it  is  to  exercise  the  perceptive  faculty 
upon  the  various  qualities  of  things,  so  that  these  may  be- 
come distinct  mental  images  or  materials  for  thought. 
The  latter  is  the  chief  end  in  education,  but  the  former  is 
by  no  means  to  be  lost  sight  of ;  indeed  it  cannot  be.  With- 
out affecting  any  extreme  development  of  the  senses  as  an 
animal  power — which  is  impossible,  and,  were  it  not  so, 
would  be  of  little  use — there  is  still  much  that  the  child 
should  observe  which  he  cannot  do  without  training.  If 
with  untrained  sight  he  look  at  colors,  he  does  not  accu- 
rately distinguish  them ;  if  he  see  a  number  of  miscellane- 
ous forms,  say  lines  on  a  board,  he  cannot  tell  their  diverg- 
ence from  the  straight ;  if  he  see  a  group  of  things  together, 
he  cannot  make  an  approximate  estimate  of  their  number ; 
if  with  untrained  hearing  he  listen  to  an  incorrectly-toned 
melody,  he  is  not  offended,  nor  does  he  derive  the  pleasure 
he  is  capable  of  doing  from  perfect  tune.  It  is  a  fallacy 
to  suppose  that  he  will  come  by  such  power  by  mere 


INTELLECTUAL    TRAINING.  43 

growth  of  bodily  frame,  without  specific  exercise  for  the 
purpose. 

influence  of  26-  The  child's  constant,  intense,  and  success- 
It  i'o no ^thV" ful  activitv  with  things  indicates  the  method  of 
work  of  the  training  proper  to  his  earliest  years.  He  must 

Infant  School.,  .     ' 

be  largely  occupied  with  objects  that  may  be 
submitted  to  his  senses,  and  the  manner  of  instruction 
must  imply  a  comprehensive  exercise  of  these.  Things 
which  he  can  see,  hear,  or  handle,  must  be  introduced,  and 
his  perceptive  power  really  exercised  upon  them  ;  no  single 
available  opportunity  for  this  being  omitted,  because  it  is 
seemingly  trivial.  It  may  be  trivial,  so  far  as  the  actual 
amount  of  information  in  one  particular  case  is  concerned  ; 
but  it  is  important,  from  its  bearing  on  the  child's  habit  of 
observation  and  on  his  inclination  to  observe.  Nothing 
will  give  this  most  valuable  habit  and  inclination  short  of 
frequent  bona  fide  contact  with  things.*  Thus  scope  must 
be  found  for  sight  to  convey  to  the  mind  the  various  sen- 
sations of  which  it  is  the  channel ;  both  the  simple  sensa- 
tions, such  as  of  light,  weak  or  strong,  of  color,  brilliant  or 
dull,  harmonious  or  discordant ;  or  those  which,  from  the 
fact  of  motion  conjoining  with  sight  to  produce  them,  are 
called  complex,!  such  as  of  form,  whether  indicated  by 
things  at  rest,  or  traced  out  by  things  in  motion,  of  size  or 
dimension,  of  position,  of  distance,  and  of  solidity.  The 
hearing  must  be  practised  in  the  discrimination  of  the 
kinds  and  qualities  of  sounds;  as  of  musical  and  non-musi- 
cal sounds,  of  sounds  rhythmical  but  not  musical,  e.g.,  of 
the  voice  in  speech ;  of  the  loud  and  the  soft  in  sounds,  of 
the  high  and  the  low,  the  long  and  the  short,  the  well- 
tuned  and  the  ill-tuned,  the  clear  and  the  muffled,  the  dis- 
tinct and  the  indistinct,  the  joyous  and  the  sorrowful : 
whilst  the  touch  must  contribute  to  the  child's  imagery 
t>Qth  through  the  simple  medium  of  muscular  action,  as  in 


44  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

giving  the  sensation  of  weight  and  lightness,  or  the  complex 
medium  of  the  muscular-tactual  action,  as  in  giving  the 
sensations  of  hard  and  soft,  smooth  and  rough,  elastic  and 
firm,  brittle  and  tough,  cold  and  hot.  This  principle  of 
cultivating  the  perceptive  power  will  explain  the  peculiar 
aspect  which  infant-school  education  presents.  It  will  ex- 
plain why  the  common  object-lesson,  in  its  various  direc- 
tions, has  so  large  a  place  in  the  instruction ;  why  lessons 
on  color,  form,  etc.,  are  insisted  on  as  part  of  the  course , 
why  singing  is  so  favorite  an  exercise ;  why  pictorial  illus- 
trations are  so  needful ;  and,  generally,  why  the  concrete  is 
regarded  to  the  exclusion  of  the  abstract.:):  It  will  explain 
why  his  instruction  proceeds  from  the  single  simple  whole, 
as  it  appears  in  nature,  inductively.  The  materials  of 
thought  must  come  prior  to  thought  itself.  We  reverse 
this  process,  if  we  begin  with  classifications,  and  definitions, 
and  general  terms,  which  are  the  result  and  the  expression 
of  much  thought. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  CONCEPTIVE  FACULTY. 

27.  THIS  is  the  faculty  which  retains,  repro- 
tive  Facui°tyP~duces,  and  forms  into  ideas  the  impressions  of 
in  relation  to  which  the  mind  becomes  conscious  through  ob- 

h/uucation. 

servation.  It  subjects  the  perceptions  to  a  pro- 
cess of  organization ;  whereby  the  qualities  which  are 
apprehended  individually  by  the  perceptive  faculty  become 
variously  combined,  so  as  to  constitute  the  higher  unities 
of  separate  existence,  as,  man,  horse,  tree.  Education  must 
regulate  and  strengthen  it,  by  presenting  for  its  reception 


THE   CONCEPTIVE  FACULTY.  45 

the  qualities  and  attributes  of  the  things  that  lie  about  us 
on  every  side ;  the  just  and  connected  apprehension  of  which 
is  necessary  before  we  can  interpret  the  appearances  of 
varied  beauty,  which  nature  wears  throughout  her  myriad 
aspects,  or  the  mingled  beauty  and  utility  of  the  objects 
devised  by  art.  We  have  now  to  consider  the  qualities  that 
mark  the  educated  conceptive  faculty,  and  the  means  of  im- 
parting these. 

28.  It  was  indicated  in  the  previous  chapter 

Qualities  to  r  r 

be  cultivated  that  the  ultimate  end  of  the  cultivation  of  the 
senses  is  to  construct  an  ideal  furniture  worthy, 
from  its  variety  and  magnificence,  of  the  noble  palace  of  the 
mind.  The  primary  character  of  the  educated  conceptive 
faculty,  therefore,  is  richness  or  fulness  of  store.  He  who 
has  this  has  an  inexhaustible  treasure  from  which  he  can 
draw  endless  allusions  and  comparisons  to  strengthen  and 
illustrate  his  own  thoughts;  whereby  his  discourse  shall 
contrast  favorably  with  the  meagre  illustration  which  a 
poorly  stored  conception  with  so  much  labor  constructs. 
Next  to  richness,  this  faculty  should  have  clearness  and 
strength;  clearness,  that  our  ideas  may  be  distinct  and 
tangible,  so  far  as  they  go ;  strength,  that  we  may  have  them 
deeply  imprinted  on  the  mind.  These  two  qualities  often  go 
together,  but  not  always.  The  character  of  clear-headed- 
ness, or  definiteness  in  conception,  is  quite  distinct  from 
that  power  of  intense  realization,  by  which  its  possessor  re- 
ceives impressions  fully  and  firmly,  like  a  stamp  deeply 
struck  into  the  heated  wax,  so  that  consciousness  readily 
recalls  them,  and  feels  much  of  the  pleasure  in  recalling, 
which  it  found  at  first  in  forming  them.  These  two  quali- 
ties, when  present  in  their  highest  degree,  are  natural  gifts; 
but,  in  whatever  degree  one  is  possessed  of  them,  a  well- 
directed  elementary  education  may  increase  their  activity 
and  power, 


46  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

29.  To  give  richness  to  the  conception,  we 

Process  of  .........  , 

furnishing  must  daily  exercise  it  in  discriminating  the 
tlve^acufiy  properties  of  things,  singly  and  in  their  endless 
Abstraction  admixtures,  till  we  go  over  in  order  the  whole 
range  of  familiar  things.  A  few  examples  will 
show  the  nature  of  the  process.  Suppose  the  lesson  to  be 
on  "  A  Tree,"  the  child's  conception  of  it,  by  the  help  of  his 
senses,  will  progress  somewhat  as  follows : — 

TREE. 

Its  Place,  ...  in  the  ground,  in  fields,  gardens,  etc. 

Its  Form,  .  .  .  upright  or  bending,  wide-spreading  above,  with 

waving  motion,  etc. 
Its  Parts,  .  .  .   Root:  below  ground,  branching,  etc. 

Trunk:  round,  solid,  pillar-like,  firm,  dark,  rough, 

knotty,  etc. 

Branches:  thin,  round,  tapering,  flexible,  etc. 
Leaves:  heart  shaped,  oval,  etc.;  soft,  green,  yel- 
low, etc. 

Blossom  and  fruit  in  their  seasons. 
Its  Sound  (in  motion),  Rustling,  gentle,  violent,  &c. 

GLASS. 

Color, Light,  stained,  clear,  transparent,  ob-1 

scured,  etc.  !  ^ 

Form  (in  windows),   Square,    round,    oval,    lozenge-  [     ^    ' 

shaped,  etc. 
Thin,  light,  hard,  brittle,  cold,  sharp, etc.  Touch. 

SEA. 
Taste,     ....  Salt,  unpleasant,  cold,  etc.   ....     Taste. 

Size, Large,  broad,  deep,  etc. 

Color, Green,  blue,  clear,  sandy,  etc.  ! 

Form,     ....  Surface:  plain,  wavy,  smooth,  foam-  j     d 

ing,  etc.       .  . j 

Sound,    ....  Dashing,  murmuring,  gentle,  violent, etc.  Hearing. 
Cool,  refreshing,  etc.        .     .     .      Touch  or  feeling. 


THE  CONCEPT! VE  FACULTY.  47 

These  tables  exhibit  a  progress  with  which  the  infant- 
school  teacher  is  very  familiar,  and  the  design  of  which 
should  be  well  understood  lest  it  be  misapplied.  The 
process  is  one  of  abstraction;  and  the  end  in  view  is  the 
cultivation  of  the  conceptive  faculty  through  the  descriptive 
part  of  language.  Each  feature  in  the  object  is  verified  by 
the  senses,  and  is  lodged  in  the  mind  by  its  name.* 

oJnVrafiM-"  30t  The  complement  of  this  exercise  is  one  ol 
tion.  generalization.  Names  are  not  given  to  things 

individually,  nor  as  the  result  of  individual  experience  of 
them.  Names  are  general  terms,  that  is,  are  given  to  spe- 
cies and  genera  after  a  wide  observation  of  the  agreements 
and  differences  of  the  individuals.  Thus, "dog"  or  "palm- 
tree"  is  the  name  of  a  class  marked  by  certain  specific 
agreements  and  by  certain  individual  differences.  The 
characteristics  of  the  thing  that  must  be  present  to  our 
minds  before  we  can  understand  the  term  are  not  numer- 
ous; but  there  is  no  limit  upwards  to  the  number  of  char- 
acteristics we  may  attach  to  the  thing.  Thus,  the  elements 
of  the  definition  "dog"  and  "palm-tree"  are  few,  so  that 
no  one  can  plead  difficulty  in  understanding  the  terms. 
Nevertheless,  the  conceptions  which  different  persons  form 
of  the  things  differ  widely  in  fulness.  Our  conception  of 
the  "  dog  "  may  be  that  of  the  naturalist,  which  is  one  ;  or  of 
the  shepherd,  which  is  a  second  ;  or  of  the  huntsman,  which 
is  a  third  ;  or  of  the  watchman,  which  is  a  fourth  ;  or  it  may 
be,  more  or  less,  a  combination  of  these.  Our  conception 
of  the  "palm-tree"  may  be  that  of  the  naturalist,  which  is 
one  ;  or  of  the  Arab,  which  is  another ;  or  of  the  merchant, 
which  is  a  third  ;  or  of  the  traveller,  which  is  a  fourth  ;  or 
it  may  include  all  these.  The  terms  are  to  us  what  we  are 
taught  to  think  into  them.511  To  take  the  same  examples  as 
before:  the  child's  conception  of  "Tree,"  "Glass,"  and 
"  Sea,"  will  progress  as.  follows  : — 


48  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

TREE. 

(i.)  Grows  in  the  earth,  has  life,  but  no  motion. — (Naturalist's 
conception.) 

(2.)  Used  for  building  houses,  schools,  etc.,  and  for  making  furni- 
ture.— (Builder's  conception.) 

(3.)  Cultivated  for  fruits,  and  requiring  attention  as  to  soil,  tend- 
ing, etc.— (Gardener's  conception.) 

(4.)  A  beautiful  object  in  a  field  or  garden,  either  alone  or  in  a 
forest,  for  its  cool  shade,  etc. — (Poetic  conception.) 

GLASS. 

(i.)  Materials:  sand,  potash,  soda,  etc. — (Chemist's  conception.) 

(2.)  Made  in  furnaces,  and  by  blowing,  etc.— Glass-blower's  con- 
ception.) 

(3.)  Used  in  houses,  etc. — (Builder's  conception.) 

(4.)  Used  for  instruments,  e.g.,  telescopes,  spectacles,  etc.— (Natu- 
ral philosopher's  conception.) 

SEA. 

(i.)  Highway  for  ships,  commerce,  etc.— (Merchant's  conception.) 
(2.)  Scene  of  adventures,  shipwrecks,  etc.— (Sailor's  conception.) 
(3.)  Supplies   food  from   its   living   swarms.— (Fisherman's   con- 
ception.) 

(4.)  Its  waters  and  air  invigorate  health. — (Physician's  conception.) 
etc.  etc.  etc. 

The  two  processes  of  abstraction  and  generalization^ 
though  they  have  been  described  separately,  are  carried  on 
together.  Thus,  a  lesson  on  the  "  Tree,"  or  on  "  Glass"  or 
on  "  the  Sea,"  as  given  to  a  gallery,  would  comprise  both 
the  outlines  that  have  been  exhibited  under  each. 

Rationale  31.  This  process  of  exhibiting  the  realities  for 
&onlor"Pic-  which  words  stand  is  characteristic  of  the  infant 
curing-out."  school  throughout.  It  is  used  not  only  in  the 
express  lesson  on  things,  but  in  all  lessons  ;  for  the  children's 
stock  of  words  is  small,  must  be  enlarged,  and  can  only  be 
effectually  enlarged  in  this  way.  New  words  which  occur 


THE  CONCEPT!  V£  FACULTY.  49 

either  in  reading  or  in  speaking  must  have  their  contents 
spread  out,  as  it  were,  like  a  scene  to  be  looked  at,  and  in 
as  bright  colors  as  may  be.  Everything  which  can  deepen 
these  colors  must  be  employed  ;  not  only  vivid  oral  des- 
cription, but  representative  gestures,  and  delineations  on 
the  board.  This  is  the  process  which  has  been  expressively, 
if  not  very  elegantly,  designated  by  the  term  "  picturing  out ; " 
a  process  available  not  for  figurative  language  alone,  as  has 
been  sometimes  supposed,  but  for  the  plainest  and  most 
literal  statement.*  These  considerations  form  the  ground 
of  the  difference  betweenthe  explanation  and  the  illustra- 
tion of  terms  afterwards  to  be  insisted  on. 

Attention        32.   In  speaking  of  the  cultivation  of  clearness 

clearness  and  an(*  stren&th    m   tne   COnceptive   faculty,  it   is   to 

strength  of    be  observed  that  these  will  depend,  in  part,  on 

conception.       ,  ....  ,  .  ,, 

the  manner  in  which  we  observe  things.  If  we 
observe  them  long,  minutely,  repeatedly,  but  especially  with 
our  whole  mind,  our  conception  will  be  the  clearer  and 
stronger.  The  teacher's  object,  then,  must  be  to  increase 
the  pupil's  attention,  both  in  respect  of  continuousness  and 
of  force  or  concentration,  with  due  regard,  of  course,  to  the 
limits  imposed  by  the  child's  nature.  It  is  of  very  great  im- 
portance to  establish  this  power,  and  in  the  right  way,  see- 
ing that  on  it  depends  to  a  great  extent  one's  mental  char- 
acter, and  the  part  he  will  perform  in  life — whether  he  shall 
have  that  steady  habit  of  persevering  thought  by  which  he 
may  accomplish  almost  anything,  or  that  fitfulness  and 
desultoriness  of  effort  which  will  end  in  accomplishing 
nothing.* 

Attention        33.  When  the  child  enters  the  infant  school, 

and  as'"8?"!-*  his  power  of  attention  is  very  weak  ;  neverthe- 

untary  act.     iess  jt  exjsts>     it  comes  to  him  with  conscious- 

ness  itself  ;  for  he  has  often  been  in  a  position  in  which  some 

4 


50  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

strong  sensation  has  suspended  his  whole  being,  in  which, 
fascinated  by  the  appearance  of  some  person,  or  some  trifling 
object,  his  imagination  has  yielded  itself  to  a  long  train  of 
images ;  so  that  the  teacher  has  not  to  create  the  power,  but 
only  to  direct  it.  This  early  attention,  however,  is  mere  in- 
ance  the  child  does  not  seek  to  attend,  but  only,  in  accord- 
stinct ;  with  the  law  of  its  being,  to  find  activity  and  pleasure. 
The  attention  which  it  is  the  business  of  his  first  education 
to  call  forth  is  a  voluntary  act ;  his  own  will  must  bend  his 
mind  towards  an  object  with  a  certain  purpose.  Here,  ac- 
cordingly, there  is  a  point  of  contact  between  mental  and 
moral  training.  The  child's  attention  can  only  be  secured 
by  giving  him  proper  motives  to  attention,  as  will  now  be 
shown. 

34.  The  second  condition  necessary  to  clear- 
mfl  JSfcfng*8  ness  and  strength  of  conception,  especially  the 
cSiSpSon!  latter>  is  emotion.  Our  impressions  are  always 
deeper  the  more  our  sensibility  is  excited. 
Many  which  it  is  important  we  should  retain  pass  away  be- 
cause of  our  listlessness  at  the  time  of  their  occurrence,  even 
though  they  are  quite  clear ;  others  of  trivial  consequence 
remain  indelibly  with  us,  unaffected  by  lapse  of  time,  from 
their  occurring  to  us  whilst  in  an  excited  state.*  The  opera- 
tions of  intellectual  life,  by  themselves,  are  but  shadows  ; 
feeling  alone  gives  them  substance  and  permanence.  To 
deepen  the  child's  conceptions  of  what  we  .present  to  him, 
therefore,  we  must  work  upon  his  feelings  ;  and  we  can  do 
so  to  a  great  extent.  We  can  thrill  him  with  joy  or  curi- 
osity, with  compassion,  sorrow,  or  indignation,  on  any  occa- 
sion we  will,  by  the  manner  of  our  address ;  and  all  these 
icelings  arouse  his  interest  in  what  we  address  to  him. 
Whilst,  by  our  general  treatment  of  him  in  school,  we  can 
keep  him  serene,  pleased  with  himself,  and  free  from  irritat- 
ing influences,  which,  if  allowed  to  prevail,  bar  the  channels 


THE  CONGESTIVE  FACULTY.  $1 

of  access  to  the  mind.  This  state  of  sympathy  and  curiosity 
is  the  only  sufficient  guarantee  of  attention.  Authority  and 
compulsion,  which  act  through  fear,  will  not  secure  the 
kind  of  attention  we  wish.  The  child  must  be  a  consent- 
ing party  to  his  own  mental  engagements,  and  under  proper 
guidance  he  will  eagerly  be  so,  Curiosity  is  one  of  the  in- 
stincts of  his  rational  nature ;  not  equally  given  to  all,  but 
entirely  denied  to  none.  Sympathy  is  the  air  on  which  he 
breathes.  Let  him  see  his  teacher  in  earnest,  interested  in 
the  lesson,  cheerful  and  pleased,  and  his  heart  will  respond. 
He  will  desire  to  share  in  his  teacher's  engagements,  that 
he  may  partake  in  the  pleasure  he  sees  to  result  from  them.f 

Obstacles        ^'  ^e  °bstacles  which  the  teacher  has  to 
to  the  habit    contend  with  in  establishing  the  habit  of  atten- 

of  attention.      .  .   ,       ,  .      ,    •  .. 

tion  vary  with  the  temperament  of  the  pupils. 
In  very  young  children  inattention  results  from  weakness  of 
mind,  not  permanently  inherent,  but  the  weakness  that 
necessarily  precedes  the  habitual  exercise  of  the  mental 
functions.*  There  are  very  few  who  continue  to  be  disquali- 
fied for  attention  by  mental  weakness.  For  these  cases  the 
teacher  has  no  remedy ;  but  it  will  be  prudent  to  let  the 
pupil  be  as  little  conscious  of  his  defect  as  possible,  es- 
pecially to  refrain  from  anger  and  contumely,  where  sym- 
pathy rather  is  due. — Some  children  are  inattentive  from 
slowness  of  mental  action,  requiring  a  greater  stimulus  to 
arouse  them. .  Caution  is  needed  that  we  may  not  misin- 
terpret and  wrongly  treat  this  peculiarity. — Others  are  in- 
attentive from  timidity.  Their  delicate  sensibility  receives 
a  shock  from  the  bustle  around  them,  or  from  the  animated 
interpellation  of  the  teacher  addressed  to  themselves.  This 
is  greatly  aggravated  if  their  previous  experience  has  given 
them  grounds  for  fear.  Any  other  than  a  gentle  and  en- 
couraging treatment  will  crush  the  exertions  of  these  pupils. 
— Others  are  inactive  from  their  vivacity.  They  are  quick 


52  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

at  catching  up  the  points  of  a  lesson,  and  so  shrewd  in  guid- 
ing themselves  by  the  teacher's  manner,  that  with  all  their 
inattention  they  generally  manage  to  answer  when  chal- 
lenged. They  find  time  to  carry  on  two  trains  of  thought 
together ;  one  connected  with  the  lesson,  the  other  either  in 
the  way  of  discourse  with  their  neighbor,  or  of  fancies  of 
their  own.  The  teacher  must  frequently  address  these 
pupils  individually. — Others  again  are  inattentive  from  slug- 
gishness of  temperament.  They  slumber  through  the  les- 
sons, showing  no  interest  in  what  is  going  on,  and  taking  in 
few  impressions.  This  want  of  sensibility  is  a  great  defect 
in  mental  character.  The  danger  to  the  pupil  lies  in  the 
possibility  of  the  teacher  not  seeing  any  way  to  kindle  it. 
Fortunately,  it  seldom  applies  to  all  directions  of  activity  ; 
each  individual  has  generally  one  engagement  at  least  which 
interests  him,  through  which  his  teacher  should  approach 
him.  Of  a  pupil  who  shows  the  same  torpor  in  every- 
thing there  is  little  hope. — These  considerations  show  that 
the  teacher  must  not  expect  all  his  pupils  to  march  abreast, 
and  that  his  measures  should  be  adapted  to  different  tem- 
peraments. A  quick  perception  to  distinguish  these,  with  a 
good  judgment  to  make  allowance  for  them,  is  one  of  the 
highest  intellectual  qualifications  for  the  teacher's  office.! 

Manner  of       ^'  ^^e  teacner  wno  nas  discernment  enough 
guiding  the    to  seek  to  establish  attention  upon  the  motives 

attention.  , 

of  curiosity  and  sympathy  is  not  likely  to  forget 
that  these  are  very  delicate,  and  need  to  be  discreetly  ap- 
pealed to.  He  will  understand  that  the  child,  with  all  his 
love  of  activity,  will  have  his  preferences  for  certain  kinds 
of  things  above  others.  He  will  understand  that  he  should 
not  attempt  with  the  class  what  he  is  not  likely  to  succeed 
in  ;  that  he  should  not  put  a  strain  on  their  motives  by 
which  their  power  shall  be  diminished,  but  that  he  should 
cease  his  daily  instruction  whilst  there  is  yet  an  impulse  in 


THE  REASONING  FACULTY.  53 

their  minds  to  go  on ;  and  that  he  must  allow  a  certain 
latitude  to  their  own  spontaneous  action,  listening  to  them 
as  well  as  speaking  to  them.  But  these,  and  other  consid- 
erations connected  with  the  manner  of  teaching,  will  be 
noticed  more  in  detail  hereafter. 

37.  The  training  of  the  conceptive  faculty  is 
o/cuftivating  the  greater  part  of  the  intellectual  business  of  the 
t?veS?acu/ty  infant  school.  The  means  of  training  it  are  end- 
less, while  the  effects  of  such  training  are  most 
influential  on  the  whole  mental  character.  A  rich  and 
ready  conception  is  the  soil  out  of  which  grows  a  sound 
judgment.  The  cause  of  error  in  our  judgments  lies  as  fre- 
quently in  the  want  of  materials  on  which  to  base  them  as 
on  the  want  of  power  to  compare  them  when  acquired. 
When  the  teacher  busies  himself,  therefore,  with  the  con- 
ceptive faculty,  he  may  be  assured  that  he  is  taking  the 
most  effective  means  to  cultivate  the  judgment.  And  it  is 
a  great  mistake  to  hasten  on  the  child  to  use  the  forms 
of  judgment  before  his  mind  is  stored  with  materials  to 
which  to  apply  them,  under  the  impression  that  we  are 
teaching  him  to  think.*  There  is  thus  produced  a  false 
maturity  of  judgment,  which  is  as  disagreeable  to  the  intel- 
ligent listener  as  it  is  pernicious  in  its  effects  on  the  child. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  REASONING   FACULTY   OR  SENSE  OF  RELATION. 

Nature  of        38>  THE  faculties  hitherto  considered  are  those 

the  higher      by  which  the  mind  gathers  in  the  materials  for 

ulty'          its   operations;     there   remains   a   faculty   of  a 

higher  nature,  which,  from  its  property  of  associating,  com- 


54  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

paring,  and  inferring,  gives  us  all  the  knowledge  we  have 
which  truly  deserves  the  name.  At  what  time  it  begins  to 
act  we  can  scarcely  tell ;  it  grows  up  almost  insensibly  from 
earliest  infancy.  It  is  variously  designated ;  sometimes 
judgment,  sometimes  thought,  more  commonly  the  reason. 
We  shall  not  call  it  by  this  name,  however,  which  is  com- 
monly confined  to  the  more  intricate  operations  of  the 
faculty,  or,  at  all  events,  is  so  suggestive  of  these  as  likely 
to  lead  to  misconception  of  what  may  be  expected  from  the 
cultivation  of  the  faculty  in  the  tender  period  we  are  con- 
sidering. It  will  be  preferable  to  use  some  term  suggestive 
of  the  nature  of  its  earliest  operations  ;  and  we  have  chosen 
for  the  purpose  the  term  "sense  of  relation." 

39.  The  function  of  the  reasoning  faculty  is, 
The  associ-  jn  the  first  instance,  to  trace  the  relations  that 

atmg  princi- 
ples by  which  may  exist  amongst  our  conceptions.     It  will  be 
ft  works  in  '    .  ,          .f  .      . 

Childhood,  sufficiently  accurate  to  describe  the  associating 
principles  by  which  it  does  so  as  fourfold,  viz., 
of  Order,  of  Resemblance,  of  Ratio,  of  Causality.  The  first 
exercises  itself  on  the  relation  between  things  in  respect  to 
time  or  space,  as  between  the  events  of  to-day  and  of  to- 
morrow, the  succession  of  seasons  or  of  periods,  an  action 
performed  in  a  place  and  the  place  itself,  the  position  of 
the  school  from  the  church,  of  England  from  Scotland  :  the 
second,  on  the  relation  of  likeness  in  respect  of  quality,  as 
between  paper  and  snow  in  color,  a  dog  and  a  wolf  in  ap- 
pearance or  habit ;  the  third,  on  the  relations  of  number 
and  quantity,  as  between  two  and  four,  a  foot  and  a  yard, 
an  ounce  and  a  pound  ;  the  fourth,  on  the  relation  of 
mutual  dependence  by  way  of  cause  and  effect,  as  between 
fire  and  heat,  the  fall  of  a  ring  and  the  sound  it  occasions, 
wrong-doing  and  suffering.  These  associating  principles 
operate  over  the  whole  range  of  the  conceptions,  linking 
not  only  one  with  one,  but  two  with  one,  or  three  with  two, 


THE  REASONING  FACULTY.  55 

and  so  on  through  all  degrees  of  complexity.  It  is  the 
exercise  of  these  principles  on  suitable  objects  and  in  suita- 
ble degree  that  constitutes  the  cultivation  of  the  reason. 
What  these  objects  and  that  degree  are,  for  the  period  be- 
fore us,  is  now  to  be  pointed  out. 

The  sense        ^.  The  simplest  of  all  the  relations,  and  one 
of  order  or      which  is  implied  in  all  the  rest,  is  that  of  order 

succession  in 

time  and  m  time  or  space.  When  two  things  are  ob- 
served together,  simultaneously  or  consecutively, 
there  is  established  by  this  fact  a  connection  between  them 
in  the  mind,  which  grows  stronger  as  the  observation  is  re- 
peated. In  the  greater  part  of  its  conceptions  the  child  has 
no  other  associating  principle  to  work  with  ;  but,  to  the  ex- 
tent that  it  is  available,  it  is  strong  and  satisfying — a  result 
due  probably  to  the  keenness  of  its  desire  for  activity  and 
the  freshness  of  everything  in  its  eyes.  To  it,  therefore,  he 
owes  the  most  of  his  acquisitions:  the  words  in  learning  to 
read,  for  instance,  or  the  multiplication  table.  But  it  is 
limited  in  its  power.  Thus,  with  respect  to  space,  he  appre- 
hends well  the  relative  position  of  things  under  his  eye, 
their  distance  and  direction  from  each  other,  or  he  can  con- 
struct for  himself  an  image  of  a  scene  similar  to  one  under 
his  eye ;  so  that  the  lesson  on  such  a  subject  is  in  every 
way  suitable.  But  the  moment  it  assumes  a  geographical 
aspect,  his  sense  of  relation  fails  him.  If  we  pass  beyond 
the  description  of  his  neighborhood,  or  of  a  natural  ob- 
ject, as  a  sea,  a  forest,  or  a  river,  he  does  not  follow  us.  He 
cannot  distribute  his  conceptions  by  measurement  over  the 
earth's  surface.  The  network  of  countries,  with  their 
names,  has  no  meaning  to  him  :  we  may  be  ourselves  con- 
scious that  this  is  a  very  complex  thing  to  apprehend.  He 
is  in  a  similar  position  with  respect  to  order  in  time.  He 
lives  in  the  present,  and  within  certain  limits  this  relation 
is  quite  satisfactory  to  him.  But  what  is  last  year  or  last 


56  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

month,  or  even,  if  he  be  very  young,  what  is  yesterday  to 
him  ?  There  is  nothing  in  his  consciousness  which  con- 
nects the  past  with  the  present,  the  present  with  the  future. 
It  is  to  no  purpose  to  throw  his  mind  back  a  century,  or 
two,  or  ten,  and  to  distinguish  events  by  their  dates.  It  is 
to  no  purpose  to  conduct  him  along  a  sequence  of  story,  in 
which  time  is  the  chain.  When  we  put  one  link  into  his 
hand,  the  former  links  disappear.  We  can  only  use  the 
"  long  ago,"  and  the  "  short  time  since,"  just  as  .in  speaking 
of  place  we  use  the  "  fa.r  away,"  "  the  cold  countries,"  or 
"  the  hot  countries." 


41.  If  we  observe  the  rise  of  the  second  asso- 
ofTikeness6    ciating  principle  in  the  child,  we  find  that  it  is 
nessUnlike"     genei"ic  resemblance  that  first  catches  his  eye, 

rather  than  the  sameness  of  individuals.  An 
infant  roaming  in  a  meadow  will  point  to  the  daisy  and  the 
dandelion,  not  for  their  difference  at  first,  but  for  their  re- 
semblance, And  if  the  first  animal  with  which  he  becomes 
familiar  be  the  horse,  he  will  extend  its  name  to  the  cow 
which  passes  him.  The  sense  of  resemblance,  however, 
does  not  long  continue  to  be  so  rude  in  its  operation  and  so 
easily  satisfied ;  in  a  short  time,  he  will  point  to  the  things 
he  before  referred  to  for  their  resemblance  as  instances  of 
difference.  The  sense  of  difference  seems  posterior  to  that 
of  resemblance,  and  to  rise  up  as  a  consequence  of  it. 

42.  This  sense  is  a  very  important  point  of 

How  it  is  '      .,    * 

cultivated  in  contact  presented  by  the  child  s  reason  to  our 
ing<  educative  processes.  Opportunities  for  stimu- 
lating it  occur  so  constantly,  that  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  used  is  taken  as  the  test  of  the  character  of  infant 
teaching.  If  we  watch  a  good  lesson,  we  shall  find  that  it 
is  the  frequent  incidental  comparison  that  makes  it  either 
interesting  or  useful.  This  holds  not  only  in  cases  where 
both  the  compared  things  have  been  observed,  as,  e.g.,  when 


THE  REASONING  FACULTY.  57 

in  a  lesson  on  the  sheep  we  compare  its  covering  to  that  of 
the  dog,  when  in  a  lesson  on  the  sea  we  compare  its  waters 
with  those  of  the  neighboring  lake,  when  in  a  lesson  on  the 
form  of  the  cone  we  compare  it  to  the  outline  of  a  bell  or 
of  a  spire,  or  when  in  a  lesson  on  a  leaf  we  compare  its 
color  to  that  of  grass  ;  but  also  in  cases  where  only  one  has 
fallen  under  observation,  as  when  in  a  lesson  on  the  camel 
we  give  an  idea  of  its  size,  or  of  its  feet,  by  comparing  it 
with  the  horse,  or  when  in  a  lesson  on  rice  we  compare  it 
in  appearance  with  corn.  The  latter  process  is  the  well- 
known  one  of  referring  things  strange  to  things  familiar,  of 
proceeding  from  the  known  to  the  unknown.  The  effect  of 
the  comparison  is  all  the  more  striking  and  stimulating, 
when  it  is  seen  to  connect  things  which  are  at  first  sight 
very  dissimilar;  as  when  in  a  lesson  on  the  sheep  we  illus- 
trate the  necessity  of  shearing  before  summer  by  our  own 
practice  of  wearing  lighter  clothes  at  that  period  for  the 
same  reason — when  in  speaking  of  the  coverings  of  birds  we 
compare  the  overlapping  of  their  feathers  to  throw  off  the 
rain  to  the  arrangement  of  tiles  on  a  house-top — when  in  a 
lesson  on  bread  we  show  how  the  material  we  eat  is  what  in 
autumn  waved  before  the  wind  in  the  yellow  fields,  or 
when  we  suggest  the  likeness  of  the  outline  drawn  on  the 
slate  to  the  common  cart-wheel  or  spinning-wheel.  At  a 
somewhat  later  date,  comparison  may  include  the  proper- 
ties of  things  as  well  as  things  themselves ;  not,  how- 
ever, till  the  pupils  have  had  considerable  practice  of 
the  conceptive  faculty  by  abstraction.  Thus  in  a  lesson 
on  glass,  on  mentioning  that  it  is  transparent,  or  brittle, 
or  smooth,  one  may  ask  for  other  things  that  are  trans- 
parent, brittle  or  smooth.  The  long  and  regular  contin- 
uance of  this  search  for  resemblance  not  only  compacts 
the  elements  of  their  knowledge  such  as  these  are,  but  will 
give  the  habit  of  looking  for  resemblance  everywhere,  which 
is  the  foundation  of  a  habit  of  reasoning. 


58  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

43.  The  exercise  of  which  we  are  speaking  de- 
it^eSTeJcise.  rives  its  charm  from  its  being  casual  in  a  lesson 
which  in  the  main  appeals  to  the  conceptive  fac- 
ulty. We  must  not  deliberately  overwhelm  the  pupil  with 
comparisons  :  this  is  to  destroy  the  character  of  the  lesson. 
It  might  seem  that  the  end  in  view  would  be  best  served  by 
the  continuous  comparison  arising  from  such  lessons  as 
these ; — the  cat  and  the  dog,  the  swallow  and  the  sparrow, 
the  foot  of  the  horse  and  that  of  the  cow,  the  rose  and  the 
lily,  rain  and  snow,  the  Arab  and  the  Icelander,  the  tidy 
and  the  untidy  boy,  and  the  like.  But  it  is  not  so  ;  another 
element  comes  in  here — that  of  series  —  which  the  infant 
mind  can  hardly  contain.  Such  lessons  are  to  be  introduced 
with  caution,  and  only  among  the  elder  pupils.  For  the  same 
reason  we  must  avoid  hasty  classification.  A  child  can 
perceive  resemblance  between  two  or  three  objects,  but  is 
slow  to  perceive  it  over  a  multitude.  Hence,  the  terms 
applied  to  divisions  and  subdivisions,  e.g.,  in  natural  history, 
as  vertebrate  and  invertebrate,  ruminant,  carnivorous,  and 
such  like,  are  little  more  than  mere  sounds  to  him.  The 
teaching  must  proceed  inductively;  yet  nothing  is  more 
worthless  than  an  induction  that  does  not  rest  on  the 
strongly- realized  conception  of  many  individual  cases. 

Sense  of  44.  Analogy,  or  the  likeness  of  relations,  im- 
thcTinfeness  plies  that  two  pairs  of  things  are  present  to  the 
of  relations.  mjnd<  jn  jts  simplest  phase  it  seems  to  melt 
away  into  mere  resemblance ;  but  in  the  general  case  it  is 
more  difficult  to  trace,  so  that  it  is  within  the  child's  grasp 
only  to  a  certain  extent.  The  most  familiar  instance  of  it 
is  that  presented  by  figurative  words.  When  we  speak,  e.g., 
of  the  face  of  the  clock,  the  proportion  is  implied  that  dial 
is  to  clock  as  face  is  to  man.  The  "  smiling  sea,"  the  "  faith- 
ful earth,"  the  "  rosy  morn,"  the  "  happy  home,"  the  "  gilded 
inountain-tops,"  the  "  silvery  moon,"  the  "  dark  mantle  of 


THE  REASONING  FACULTY.  59 

night/'  the  "babbling  brook,"  are  all  examples  of  analogical 
expression,  which  fall  quite  within  the  teacher's  vocabulary, 
attractive  to  children  from  their  picturesqueness,  and  in- 
structive from  their  fulness  of  meaning.  No  small  part  of 
the  moral  instruction  of  the  infant  school  is  given  through 
analogy.  The  numerous  object-lessons  that  deal  with  ani- 
mals seldom  conclude  without  yielding  some  practical  in- 
struction bearing  on  the  conduct  of  life.  Thus,  "  the  little 
busy  bee,"  "the  prudent  ant,"  "the  gentle  and  harmless 
lamb,"  "the  generous  dog,"  "the  patient  ass,"  are  personi- 
fications of  recognized  appositeness.  Scripture  emblems 
also,  and  secular  maxims  or  proverbs  on  which  so  much  in- 
struction of  the  same  kind  is  grafted,  are  analogies  :  eg., 
"  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd  ;"  "  All  flesh  is  as  grass."  So 
are  the  fable,  the  anecdote,  and  the  story  of  any  kind.  The 
practical  application  of  such  lessons  implies  the  comparison 
of  our  circumstances  with  those  suggested  in  the  subject. 
It  must  be  stated,  however,  that  the  tracing  of  these  anal- 
ogies is  perhaps  the  most  common  instance  of  failure  in  in- 
fant-school lessons ;  a  failure  which  arises  sometimes  from 
vagueness  and  feebleness  in  stating  the  analogy,  but  gener- 
ally from  a  too  great  expansion  of  it.* 

Sense  of          45-  Tne  sense  of  relation  with  respect  to  num- 
Ratio,orre-  ber  and  quantity  is  largely  cultivated  in  the  in- 

lationin  num-  J  fo     3 

berandquan- fant  school  m  connection  with  objects.  Ihe 
lessons  on  number  are  only  the  expansion  of  the 
child's  own  ideas,  which  we  may  call  natural,  since  he  shows 
himself  in  possession  of  them  as  soon  as  he  can  observe  at 
all.  The  lesson  on  form  does  the  same  service  to  his 
notions  of  size  and  extent  by  requiring  him  to  estimate 
these  in  their  various  applications ;  thus  he  makes  lines  of 
the  same  length  and  width,  bisects  lines  and  figures,  and  so 
on.  The  means  used  for  verifying  to  his  eye  his  operations 
in  number  exercise  his  ideas  of  number  and  quantity  con- 


60  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

jointly,  e.g.,  a  row  of  balls  doubled  or  halved,  a  yard  as  made 
up  of  three  feet,  a  square  foot  as  made  up  of  square  inches, 
and  the  like.  It  may  be  observed  that  in  this  instruction 
analogy  is  mixed  up  with  ratio  ;  necessarily  indeed,  for  we 
cannot  avoid  implicit  statements  of  proportions,  as  when  we 
say  that  4d.  is  the  third  part  of  is.,  and  a  foot  the  third  part 
of  a  yard. 

46.  The  relation  of  causality,  in  its  simplest 
ofc^usluty.  fc>rm>  suggests  itself  very  early  to  the  child.  It 
springs  from  the  perception  of  uniform  succes- 
sion. Thus,  if  he  has  struck  his  hand  repeatedly  on  the 
table,  he  will  see  that  the  action  cannot  be  performed  with- 
out noise  as  a  consequence ;  and  accordingly  to  enjoy  the 
noise  he  performs  the  action.  He  contents  himself  on  the 
first  instance  with  observing  the  connection ;  not  caring  to 
examine  it  till  a  later  period.  The  order  of  his  inquiries  is, 
first,  what  ?  then,  how  ?  lastly,  why  ?  The  first  is  made  in- 
variably ;  the  second,  and  still  more  the  third,  casually. 
We  must  not,  therefore,  think  of  carrying  him  along  a 
stream  of  casual  connection.  It  is  a  mistake  to  judge  of  an 
infant-school  lesson  by  the  number  of  "whys"  that  occur  in 
the  questioning,  to  view  such  questions  as  the  crowning 
evidences  of  tact,  or  the  absence  of  them  as  the  indications 
of  failure.  In  truth,  the  practical  effect  of  such  questions  is 
not  to  make  the  children  think,  as  is  commonly  supposed, 
but  more  generally  to  stop  their  flow  of  thought.  There  is 
no  lack  of  proper  occasions  for  the  teacher  pointing  out  this 
connection,  but  it  must  be  done  sparingly  and  with  judg- 
ment. Thus,  to  proceed  from  cause  to  effect ; — What  hap- 
pens when  light  is  applied  to  sealing-wax  ?  when  the  tallow 
mould  is  dipped  into  cold  water  (in  candle-making)  ?  when 
an  animal,  as  the  dog,  is  always  treated  with  harshness  ? 
when  trees  are  planted  too  closely  together  ?  What  may  be 
expected  when  the  clouds  are  black  and  heavy  ?  when  one 


THE  REASONING  FACULTY.  6 1 

runs  too  fast  in  coming  to  school  ?  Suppose  the  pupil  is 
brought  with  a  proper  impulse  up  to  the  point,  in  their  re- 
spective lessons,  at  which  these  questions  may  be  put,  he 
may  be  expected  to  answer  them  from  his  own  observation 
of  some  similar  case  before.  So,  when  we  proceed  from 
effect  to  cause  ; — Why  do  we  use  glass  for  windows  ?  wood 
for  tables  and  chairs  ?  Why  do  we  put  shoes  on  the  foot  of 
the  horse  ?  why  do  we  make  a  cart-wheel  with  spokes  ?  why 
has  the  camel  a  water  stomach  ?  why  is  a  ship  made  long 
and  sharp  at  the  bow  ?  Of  this  relation,  in  common  with 
those  of  resemblance  and  of  ratio,  it  may  here  be  remarked 
that  their  influence  on  the  child's  acquisitions  is  more  pow- 
erful than  that  of  mere  order  or  succession,  so  that,  the 
more  we  can  bring  them  to  bear  within  the  prescribed  limits, 
the  better  we  furnish  the  conceptive  faculty  and  the  more 
we  aid  their  memory. 

The  whole  47.  It  is  necessary  to  guard  most  stringently 
?ieo1ntn>infan*~ against  the  exercise  of  the  higher  mental  facul- 
»£  HnVted  tcV  ties  in  the  infant  period  of  education.  It  may 

tne  sphere  ol  *  * 

observation,  now  be  explicitly  stated,  therefore — what  has 
been  assumed  throughout  this  entire  chapter — that  the 
tracing  of  the  various  relations  is  performed  in  connection 
with  the  observing  faculty,  the  whole  process  lying  within 
the  sphere  of  the  intuitions  of  outward  things.  In  the  ter- 
minology of  the  common  theory  of  separate  faculties,  the 
working  of  the  higher  faculty,  the  Judgment,  is  viewed  as 
lying  within  the  sphere  of  the  Understanding.  On  that  ac- 
count, we  have  used  neither  of  these  terms.  Speaking 
strictly,  the  understanding  is  taken  to  denote  the  capacity 
of  logical  process,  or  formal  thought.  Its  activity  is  found 
in  the  comparison  of  terms,  the  statement  of  their  agree- 
ment or  disagreement  in  propositions,  and  the  deduction  of 
further  propositions  therefrom.  The  understanding  uses 
terms  apart  from  the  images  which  first  suggested  them, 


62  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

having  either  allowed  the  connection  to  drpp  out  of  sight, 
or  possibly  never  having  formed  it.  It  deals  with  them  as 
symbols  of  logical  equivalence,  and  not  as  the  symbols  of 
intuitions.*  The  cultivation  of  the  understanding,  there- 
fore, is  no  function  of  the  infant  school,  where  we  have  to 
deal,  so  far  as  the  intellect  is  concerned,  only  with  outward 
realities  and  their  relations.!  (§§  31,  32-) 

Defects  of  48.  Suppose  that  a  lesson  is  to  be  given  on 
Shichad!sr2  "Joseph's  meeting  with  his  brethren,"  and  that 
gardsthis  t^e  questioning:  is  cast  as  follows: — Who  was 

law  exempli- 
fied. Joseph  ?      What    country    did    he    belong  to  ? 

Where  was  he  living  at  this  time?  Where  was  Egypt? 
What  kind  of  people  lived  in  it  ?  Who  was  the  king  ?  What 
state  was  Joseph  in  at  this  time  ?  How  had  he  been  raised 
so  high  ?  Who  raised  him  ?  Why  was  he  made  so  great  ? 
Why  did  his  brethren  come  down  to  him  at  this  time  ? 
What  is  a  famine  ?  What  kind  of  country  was  Egypt  ?  What 
is  the  meaning  of  fertile  ?  What  made  it  so  fertile  ?  Had 
Egypt  any  corn  to  spare  ?  How  do  we  know  ?  How  was 
it  saved  from  the  famine  ?  What  were  the  names  of  his 
brethren  ?  Who  was  the  youngest  ?  Was  he  with  them  ? 
Why  not  ?  How  could  he  be  in  danger  going  to  Egypt  ? 
What  did  the  brothers  do  when  they  saw  Joseph  ?  Did  they 
know  him  ?  What  did  he  do  ?  Why  did  he  receive  them 
in  that  way  ?  What  is  a  spy  ?  How  did  they  feel  ?  How 
did  they  show  him  they  were  not  spies?  etc.,  etc.  This 
lesson  is  good  enough  of  its  sort,  and  simple  enough  too ; 
but  it  is  not  an  infant-school  lesson,  because  it  is  addressed 
to  the  understanding  merely,  dealing  with  terms  and  not 
with  images,  making  deductions  from  propositions  without 
giving  the  means  of  verification  which  observation  affords. 
The  logical  character — the  implied  reason  and  consequent 
— excludes  the  descriptive  and  imaginative.  The  impres- 
sion made  by  the  lesson,  therefore,  even  although  the 


THE  REASONING  FACULTY.  63 

questions  be  answered,  will  be  as  slight  and  unsubstantial 
as  the  process  is  uninteresting.* 

characteris-       49-  From  a11  the  foregoing  considerations,  it 


tid!n°theeinh"  ^°^ows  l^at  m  t^ie  in^an^  school  there  is  no 
fant  school  "  scientific  method  ;  "  there  is  no  single  subject  of 
ence  to  the  instruction  carried  on  continuously  and  in  regular 
highe  ii-  or(jer)  each  step  resting  on  the  previous  one  and 
leading  to  the  next,  so  as  to  offer  in  its  sequence  a  mental 
discipline  over  and  above  what  is  afforded  "by  its  individual 
parts.  This  synthetic  procedure  belongs  to  the  upper 
school.  The  infant  school  aims  at  educating  especially  the 
perceptive  and  conceptive  faculties  ;  in  so  far  as  it  culti- 
vates the  reason,  it.  does  so  simply  by  applying  the  princi- 
ples of  association  to  the  action  of  the  perceptive  faculty. 
It  is  immaterial,  therefore,  with  what  classes  of  things  the 
pupil  is  occupied.  Animals,  plants,  objects,  are  all  equally 
useful  if  they  are  equally  interesting  :  we  do  not  at  this 
stage  recognize  the  test  of  prospective  practical  utility. 
And  it  is  in  vain  to  urge  as  a  fault  against  our  method  that 
it  is  confused  or  flighty.  Its  desultoriness  is  no  disadvan- 
tage, if  we  secure  our  chief  aim  of  activity  and  cheerfulness. 
Moreover,  it  is  orderly  and  rational  within  its  own  limits, 
for  it  is  the  method  of  nature  in  the  early  life  of  the  child. 
We  need  not  attempt,  then,  to  convey  systematic  knowledge 
in  the  faith  that  we  have  a  peculiar  power  of  simplification. 
We  may  introduce  simplification  upon  simplification  with 
most  elaborate  ingenuity,  but  after  all  we  are  only  doing 
well  what  should  not  be  done  at  all.  Besides,  we  shall  not 
attain  the  end  we  have  in  view  ;  our  work  will  have  all  to 
be  done  over  again.  Reserving  this  expenditure  of  labor 
for  a  stage  in  the  pupil's  progress  which  will  recompense  it, 
let  us  leave  to  the  infant  his  natural  freedom,  fitfulness,  and 
variety  ;  otherwise,  we  are  like  a  person  trying  to  lift  a 


64  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

chain  of  glass,  which  breaks  asunder  at  every  two  or  three 
links  by  its  own  weight.* 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

\ 

THE  IMAGINATION. 

TheFacui-      50-  AN  associating  principle    of  a  different 
ty  of  imagin-  ^jn(j  frOm  any  that  have  yet  been  named  is  that 

ation  in  rela-  _•'_•' 

tion  to  educa-by  which  the   mind  constructs  for  itself  new 

tion.  .  -  ...... 

images  out  of  materials  already  in  its  posses- 
sion ;  this  is  imagination,  commonly  so  called.  Children, 
even  infants,  are  strongly  imaginative ;  great  part  of  the 
pleasure  they  derive  from  the  contemplation  of  objects 
arises  from  their  wandering  over  the  many  fields  of  mental 
images  which  they  construct  for  themselves,  in  connection 
with  what  they  are  handling.*  The  way  by  which  this 
peculiar  activity  is  exercised  in  school  is  by  requiring  them 
to  realize  scenes  of  which  we  give  a  description.  The  ma- 
terials for  such  scenes  are  various ;  as  single  objects,  parts 
of  natural  scenery,  and  scenes  from  life.  The  means  of 
giving  these  descriptions  are  linear  or  pictorial  repre- 
sentation, but  chiefly  language  :  the  latter  may  serve  the 
end  alone,  though  it  should  invariably  be  supported  by 
the  former,  when  that  is  practicable ;  the  former,  though 
clearer  and  less  circuitous  so  far  as  it  goes,  can  never, 
for  our  purpose,  dispense  with  supplementary  description 
in  language.  The  manner  of  the  description  is  to  give 
some  general  notion  of  the  whole  outline  of  the  object 
or  scene  which  shall  serve  as  a  groundwork,  and  then  to 
fill  in  the  details  ;  if  a  number  of  details  be  presented  be- 
fore there  is  such  an  outline  to  refer  them  to,  the  mind  is, 
apt  to  lose  itself. 


THE  IMAGINATION.  65 

its  exercise  51.  Substituting  for  glass  some  substance, 
exemplified.  Sucj1  as  mercury,  which  there  may  be  little  op- 
portunity for  showing  to  the  class,  but  which  must  be  de- 
scribed, the  following  outlines,  as  compared  with  those  in 
§  29,  will  show  the  difference  between  the  lesson  which  ap- 
peals to  the  simple  conception  or  idea-forming  faculty,  and 
that  which  exercises  the  imagination  : — 

PALM-TREE. — A  tree  as  tall  as  the  tallest  of  our  trees — with  a 
straight  unbending  trunk — of  cane-like  form — bare  till  towards 
the  top — and  then  having  a  tufted  crown  of  majestic  leaves  inter- 
spersed with  fruit  generally  growing  in  clusters — the  clear  blue 
sky  overhead — the  scorching  heat  around — sometimes  the  spring 
of  water  near  the  base — the  verdure  that  breaks  the  arid  waste  of 
the  desert — the  Arab  resting  to  refresh  himself  on  his  journey. 

MERCURY. — The  image  must  be  constructed  by  borrowing  vari- 
ous ideas,  and  organizing  them  so  as  to  form  a  new  whole  ;  the 
idea  of— 

a  metal — from  iron,  tin,  or  some  other  ; 

fluidity — from  water  ; 

brilliancy — from  silver  ; 

smoothness— from  still  water,  glass,  or  the  like  ; 

melting,  freezing — from  lead  and  water  ; 

weight — from  lead  ; 
etc.,          etc. 

THE  SEA. — The  mass  of  waters,  far  as  the  eye  can  reach — calm, 
clear,  green — reflecting  the  clouds  that  sail  above  it,  and  smiling 
in  the  beams  of  the  sun — many  a  white  sail  spread  to  the  breeze 
on  its  surface — the  sea  fowl  overhead — the  islets  or  rocks  dotting 
its  surface — the  landscape  that  girds  its  shores,  black  with  the 
mould  of  spring,  or  yellow  with  the  waving  corn  of  autumn. 

Or,  in  storm,  we  should  draw  the  howling  of  the  wind — the 
thick  black  clouds  rushing  along  overhead— the  darkened  sky — 
the  lashing  of  the  waves  and  spray — the  laboring  bark — the 
anxious  hearts  on  board  and  at  home — the  fearful  shipwreck,  etc., 
etc. 

5 


66  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

Field  for  its     *^.     In    like    manner    should    we   carry  the 
exercise—       child's  imagination  over  all  the  phenomena  of 

natural  ob- 
jects andj       nature   and  art,  the  sugar-field,  the  tea  planta- 

scenery.  .  ,  . 

tion,  the  process  of  any  trade,  the  barren  desert 
or  the  fertile  valley  of  Egypt,  the  snowy  home  of  the  Lap- 
lander and  his  reindeer,  the  wild  prairie  of  the  Indian  and 
his  buffalo,  the  bush  of  the  Caffre  and  his  lion, — not  by 
stating  in  a  dry,  didactic,  however  connected,  way,  the  facts 
of  the  case,  but  by  such  a  highly  colored  picture  as  shall 
call  forth  the  emotion  of  the  pupil.  And  we  should  not 
clip  the  wings  of  his  imagination  by  too  hastily  placing  the 
pictures  of  these  objects  or  scenes  before  him ;  this  at  once 
throws  it  into  a  groove  from  which  it  cannot  get  out.  Let 
us  rather  give  him  scope  for  his  imagination  to  work,  and 
then  the  means  of  comparing  his  mental  image  with  an 
actual  picture  :  this  will  interest  him  more. 

The  same—  ^3.  Scenes  and  incidents  from  life  afford  ex- 
Hf|nes  fr°m  cellent  materials  for  the  exercise  of  this  faculty. 
The  very  dolls  and  playthings  of  the  infant,  and 
the  playmates  of  the  child,  are  the  heroes  of  many  a  drama; 
the  limited  space  which  constitutes  their  little  world  is  a 
stage  on  which  the  curtain  is  constantly  rising  and  falling. 
Of  everything  that  belongs  to  them  it  may  be  said  that 
"  thereby  hangs  a  tale."  If  the  teacher  doubt  whether  such 
stories  have  attractions  for  them,  let  him  take  his  place  be- 
fore his  gallery,  tell  his  pupils  what  he  is  about  to  do,  and, 
according  to  their  age,  speak  to  them  or  read  to  them  from 
some  of  the  nursery  tales,  or  a  fable,  or  an  adventure  by  sea 
or  land,  or  some  domestic  scene ;  or  let  him  discuss  some 
incident  connected  with  their  own  amusements.  Let  him 
read  or  speak  with  sympathy  and  tact,  and  their  eyes  will 
sparkle  with  delight ;  they  will  appreciate  it  and  reproduce 
it  long  after  many  subsequent  lessons  of  a  more  common- 
place sort  have  faded  from  their  memories,  Indeed  they 


THE  IMAGINATION.  67 

will  probably  never  forget  it;  it  remains  in  their  minds, 
always  fresh,  always  beautiful,  to  be  imaged  again  and  again 
by  them,  the  sure  anchor  of  some  strong  moral  impression, 
which  is  all  the  more  felt  by  them  that  it  is  not  inculcated 
as  formal  doctrine. 

54.  The  exercise  of  this  faculty  is  singularly 
o/cSFu  JS?ng  neglected  in  school ;  yet  there  can  be  no  doubt 
1  u^/uCULty  inof  the  benefit  arising  from  it  when  given  in  due 

childhood. 

degree.  It  has  been  suspected,  looked  on  as 
dangerous,  and  proscribed.  And  why  ?  because  many  al- 
low it  to  tyrannize  over  them.  But  the  cultivation  of  the 
faculty  in  youth,  so  far  from  fostering  this,  is  the  only  way 
to  prevent  it.  Where  no  plants  are  reared  in  the  rich  soil, 
weeds  must  spring  up.  If  we  train  it  in  youth,  it  will,  like 
the  other  faculties,  be  able  to  guide  itself  in  mature  years. 
It  is  unwise  to  restrain  its  action  entirely,  especially  in 
young  children.  Education  is  a  positive  process ;  it  re- 
strains the  propensities  from  what  is  bad,  not  by  prohibi- 
tions, but  by  giving  them  a  bent  to  what  is  good.  So,  the 
exercise  of  the  imagination,  morality  being  always  regarded, 
can  have  no  other  than  a  salutary  influence.  But  it  is 
sometimes  said  that  it  is  better  to  occupy  children  with 
what  is  useful.  This  is  the  fallacy  that  has  played  such 
havoc  with  the  liveliness  of  young  minds  in  these  later 
times.  What  is  useful  for  the  man  may  be  far  from  being 
so  for  the  child.  If  we  stimulate  the  child  to  activity,  that 
is  what  is  useful :  if  we  give  him  an  impulse  to  attention 
and  to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge ;  if  we  furnish  fit  food 
to  his  instincts,  and  give  to  each  faculty  the  pure  delight  of 
easy  and  natural  exercise  ;  if  we  store  his  mind  with  rich  and 
sunny  images,  which  will  not  unseldom  flit  across  him  in 
after  years  with  all  their  pleasant  associations  ;  we  attain  a 
result  in  his  intellectual  education  compared  with  which  no 
other  deserves  in  so  high  a  sense  to  be  esteemed  as  useful, 


68  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

It  is  of  vital  importance,  then,  to  have  the  imaginative 
element  restored  to  that  place  in  the  education  of  the  child 
from  which  a  short-sighted  and  pernicious  prejudice  has 
temporarily  displaced  it ;  and  there  is  no  reason  for  with- 
holding from  the  children  of  the  infant  school  what  all  en- 
lightened parents  of  the  wealthier  classes  are  so  justly  care- 
ful to  provide  for  the  home  education  of  their  own  chil- 
dren.* 


CHAPTER   IX. 

MORAL  TRAINING — THE   FEELINGS. 

The  scope  55.  WE  have  certain  moral  powers  which, 
Education  eclually  with  our  bodily  and  intellectual,  depend 
on  education  for  a  proper  direction  to  their  ac- 
tivity and  fruitfulness.  The  function  of  these  powers  is  to 
discern,  to  feel,  and  to  will  what  is  right.  The  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil  is  part  of  every  man's  nature,  just  as  is  the 
knowledge  of  light  and  darkness ;  not  depending  for  its  ex- 
istence on  any  external  circumstances  of  time,  place,  rank, 
or  even  education.  All  education  assumes  it,  just  as  it 
does  the  sense  of  sight  in  presenting  objects  to  the  eye,  or 
the  sense  of  relation  in  comparing  them.  To  it  the  written 
Word  makes  its  appeal.  Conscience  is  within  the  moral 
sphere  what  consciousness  is  in  the  intellectual;  not  so 
much  a  distinct  power  as  the  condition  of  all  the  powers. 
This  indestructible  principle  testifies  to  man  the  obligation 
of  right,  (i.)  It  convinces  us  of  the  existence  of  a  Supreme 
Being,  who  is  at  once  the  source  and  the  end  of  all  good, 
who  is  also  a  lawgiver,  and  whom,  therefore,  we  are  bound 
to  love  and  obey;  recognizing  as  the  highest  expression  of 
duty  that  "  first  and  great  commandment,"  "  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and  soul  and 


MORAL  TRAINING— THE  FEELINGS.        69 

strength  and  mind."  (2.)  Its  existence  in  ourselves  in- 
volves a  belief  of  its  existence  in  our  neighbors,  who  are 
thus  seen  by  us  to  be  subject  to  the  same  laws  and  experi- 
ences, and  between  whom  and  ourselves  there  is  a  mutual 
obligation  to  promote  each  other's  good ;  so  that  it  recog- 
nizes as  "the  second  commandment,  which  is  like  unto  the 
first,"  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself ;" — "  What- 
soever ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even 
so  unto  them."  (3.)  It  approves  or  condemns  our  own 
conduct,  whose  springs  lie  deep  hidden  in  the  recesses  of 
the  heart,  and  whose  real  character  is  often  very  different 
from  that  which  it  presents  to  the  world ;  so  that  it  is, 
indeed,  what  it  has  been  called,  the  voice  of  God  within  us. 
"  If  our  heart  condemn  us,  God  is  greater  than  our  heart, 
and  knoweth  all  things ;  if  our  heart  condemn  us  not,  then 
have  we  confidence  toward  God."*  Thus  in  our  threefold 
relation  to  God,  to  our  neighbor,  and  to  ourselves,  it  tells 
us  of  certain  duties ;  to  God — love,  reverence,  obedience ; 
to  our  neighbor — benevolence,  justice,  sincerity ;  to  our- 
selves— purity,  patience,  humility.*  It  is  the  business  of 
moral  education  to  strengthen  the  power  of  conscience, 
which  it  does  by  cultivating  these  feelings;  for  they  are  the 
channels  by  which  it  draws  in  the  elements  of  health,  and 
by  which  also  it  manifests  its  vigor.  Thus  it  is  kept  in 
contact  with  the  daily  conduct.  Between  the  knowing 
what  is  right  and  the  doing  what  is  right,  there  are  two 
steps ;  we  must  feel  it,  and  we  must  will  it.  To  know  is 
not  to  feel  and  to  will ;  to  know  and  to  feel  is  not  to  will 
and  perform ;  to  know,  to  feel,  and  to  will,  result  in  action. 
On  the  one  hand,  then,  the  moral  feelings  must  be  regu- 
lated ;  on  the  other,  the  will.  Moral  education  is  the  train- 
ing to  perform  right  actions  from  right  feelings,  for  the  ap- 
proval of  our  conscience  and  of  God.  In  this  chapter  we 
shall  speak  of  the  Feelings,  and  in  the  following  of  the 
Will. 


70  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

56.  Those  who  have  to  do  with  the  education 

Importance 

of  attending  of  the  young  should  know  that  the  moral  train- 
ing of  their  charge  is  the  principal  part  of  their 
duty.  It  is  so  enjoined  on  them  by  the  Supreme  Authority. 
"Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go."  It  is  so- 
ciety's first  demand  on  the  teacher.  Deficiency  in  clever- 
ness or  in  attainment  may  be  pardoned ;  but  a  just  sense  of 
right  and  rectitude  of  conduct,  society  requires  for  the  dis- 
charge of  all  its  obligations,  and  it  expects  to  find  these  in- 
culcated, if  anywhere,  in  the  school.  And  this  training  is 
the  first  need  of  the  child's  own  nature.  With  it,  happi- 
ness is  within  his  reach,  in  whatever  sphere  he  be ;  without 
it,  not  only  is  his  own  happiness  impossible,  but  he  will  in- 
terfere with  that  of  others.  A  duty  which  comes  to  the 
teacher  with  so  many  and  so  strong  sanctions  must  claim 
his  first,  his  constant,  regard. 

57.  Moral  training   may  be  commenced  very 
critical  peri-  early.     We  see  from  observation  that  emotion 

is  active  in  the  most  tender  infancy;  as  soon, 
indeed,  as  the  infant  is  capable  of  feeling  a  want,  and  of 
being  conscious  of  its  supply  or  its  neglect.  And  as  soon 
as  emotion  is  felt,  it  may  be  biassed  by  education.  If  in  its 
first  year,  then,  the  child  experiences  emotion,  we  may  see 
that  ere  its  fourth — the  period  "at  which  it  comes  to  school 
— its  experience  must  be  very  wide.  The  first  six  years,  it 
has  been  truly  said,  is  the  critical  period  in  moral  training. 
The  impressions  that  adhere  longest  to  us  and  are  the 
deepest  are,  we  know,  those  of  which  we  remember  not 
the  origin — those  which  we  imbibed  unconsciously  under 
parental  influence  in  infancy.  The  child's  disposition  may 
issue  from  this  period  of  his  education,  not  certainly 
formed,  indeed,  but  with  a  very  strong  bent  to  good. 
There  are  then  no  obstacles  to  overcome,  nothing  to  undo ; 
the  affections  are  soft  and  pliable ;  whereas,  if  this  period 


MORAL   TRAINING-THE  FEELINGS.  71 

pass  without  moral  training,  the  difficulties  of  the  work  are 
increased  fourfold,  the  affections  take  a  bent  of  their  own, 
and  our  influence  is  no  longer  the  same  either  in  kind  or  in 
effect. 

Action  the       ^8.  The  great  means  of  training  the  feelings 
only  effectual  is  to  draw  them  out  into  action;  we  may  say, 

means  of  j         j 

training  the  the  only  means.  A  feeling  apart  from  its  cor- 
responding activity  is  a  mere  sentiment ;  a  thing 
which  our  neighbors  are  not  conscious  of,  which  does 
nothing,  and  which  practically  is  nothing.  Activity  is  nat- 
ural to  the  child  in  its  moral  character,  just  as  we  have 
seen  it  to  be  in  its  physical  and  mental.  A  child  in  the 
presence  of  kindness  and  affection  exhibits  a  sympathy 
with  it,  or  a  return  of  it  by  something  which  it  does ;  in 
the  presence  of  pain  it  tries  its  little  to  relieve  it.  We  must 
therefore  provide  it  with  the  means  of  acting  out  its  right 
feelings ;  and  we  must  weaken  by  non-activity  those  of  an 
opposite  character.  If  we  would,  e.g.,  cultivate  kindness, 
let  us  show  it  kindness  in  our  deeds,  and  it  will  return  kind 
deeds ;  if  reverence,  let  us  habitually  show  it  the  example 
of  reverence,  and  it  will  conform  ;  if  justice,  honesty,  truth- 
fulness, we  must  arrange  the  little  society  so  that  in  its 
daily  intercourse  if  will  have  opportunities  of  seeing  and  of 
exemplifying  them.  If  kindness,  reverence,  justice,  hon- 
esty, truthfulness  be  never  acted  before  it,  then,  however 
much  they  may  be  spoken  about,  the  child  will  have  no 
sense  of  their  obligation.  It  is  only  as  acts  that  it  can 
know  them  ;  in  themselves  they  are  abstract  terms  of  which 
it  can  form  no  conception.  So,  if  we  wish  to  root  out  im- 
proper feelings,  or  to  prevent  their  growth,  such  as  vanity 
or  the  love  of  praise,  rivalry  or  the  love  of  superiority,  or 
the  like,  we  withhold  the  praise  or  the  ocular  proof  of 
superiority  which  ministers  to  these  feelings.  The  law  of 
exercise  is  of  universal  application  in  education ;  and  it 


72  £ARLY  EDUCATION. 

needs  to  be  specially  insisted  on  in  moral  training,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  degree  in  which  it  has  been  overlooked  in 
this  department.* 

wide  field  59.  In  view  of  this  law,  the  infant  school 
thesfnnfandtby  offers  a  very  .wide  field  for  moral  training, 
moral1  educa-  There  is  great  room  for  activity  of  all  sorts, 
tion.  The  children  are  in  constant  contact  with  their 

superiors  in  the  person  of  the  teacher  and  his  assistants, 
with  their  equals  in  the  persons  of  their  comrades;  and 
that,  both  under  direct  superintendence  in  the  schoolroom 
and  in  the  freedom  of  the  playground.  In  the  different 
occupations  and  the  separate  interests  of  the  little  society, 
all  the  feelings  have  room  to  show  themselves  which  relate 
to  their  neighbors  ;  whilst  the  feelings  that  relate  to  things 
— honesty,  order,  cleanliness,  and  diligence — are  also  exer- 
cised. To  which  we  may  perhaps  add  the  opportunities 
of  intercourse  which  they  have  when  they  meet  in  groups 
for  recreation  at  home :  from  such  meetings  the  school  in- 
fluence is  not  absent. 

.  60.  The  child  is  all  the  while  receiving  such 
of  morality  instruction  on  moral  topics  as  suits  its  years  ; 
not  th^las°onbut  we  are  to  observe  that  its  moral  training 
tionlhe  affe°"  does  not  at  this  period  rest  on  an  intellectual 
basis.  The  sanction  of  its  conduct  is  not  con- 
viction but  authority.  Its  duty  is  assumed  by  the  teacher, 
as  a  thing  not  the  less  binding  on  it  that  it  cannot  yet  com- 
prehend the  nature  of  the  obligation.  It  is  prejudicial  to 
be  constantly  showing  the  child  why  it  should  act  in  such 
and  such  a  way.  This  goes  to  make  its  own  inadequate 
comprehension  the  measure  of  its  duty  ;  to  peril  the  duty 
on  the  success  of  the  demonstration.  Not  so  acts  the 
pirent ;  he  wills  the  child  to  act  in  a  certain  way,  and  sends 
the  obligation  home  to  its  heart  with  indisputable  force,  as 


MORAL   TKAINJNG—THE  FEELINGS.  73 

being  the  will  of  one  whom  it  loves  and  depends  on.  It  is 
to  obey,  in  the  first  instance,  not  because  it  is  right  in  the 
abstract  for  it  to  do  so,  but  because  this  is  the  will  of  its 
parent.  So  with  the  teacher ;  he  personally  is  the  child's 
rule ;  his  sympathy  the  child's  sanction  ;  his  pleasure  the 
child's  reward.  The  reasons  of  morality  will  be  given  here- 
after; meanwhile  we  cannot  suspend  the  child's  training 
till  he  is  advanced  enough  to  feel  the  force  of  these.  If 
the  heart  be  not  bent  in  infancy  by  sympathy  and  authority 
to  good,  reason,  when  it  comes  to  act,  will  not  make  up  the 
defect.  It  is  because  of  the  absence  of  any  working  of  this 
anterior  influence  that  the  demonstrations  of  moral  duty 
so  seldom  affect  the  conduct  of  those  who  have  reached 
the  period  of  youth.*  For  we  must  not  forget  that,  where 
the  authority  of  teacher  or  parent  is  wanting,  there  is  not 
on  that  account  an  entire  absence  of  authority  ;  it  is  a  de- 
lusive hope  that  the  moral  nature  can  be  preserved  in  in- 
fancy free  and  unbiassed,  so  as  to  listen  with  impartiality 
to  the  teaching  of  reason  at  a  future  period.  Some  au- 
thority, internal  if  not  external,  is  always  influencing  the 
child  for  evil  or  for  good. 

Moral  use        gi    Provided  the  law  of  exercise  be  observed, 

of  the  imagi- 
nation. z,e.,  provided  the  children  be  accustomed  to  as- 
sociate immediate  action  with  the  feelings  called  up  by  the 
scenes  which  occur  daily  amongst  themselves,  the  teacher 
may  avail  himself  of  the  power  which  imagination  gives 
him  of  multiplying  indefinitely,  both  in  number  and  in 
character,  scenes  of  feeling.  The  moral  use  of  the  faculty 
of  imagination  is  to  enable  us  to  enter  into  the  feelings  of 
others  by  drawing  a  mental  picture  of  their  circumstances. 
At  a  scene  of  virtue  or  heroism  a  child  will  feel  pleasure 
and  manifest  approval ;  at  a  scene  of  suffering  or  wicked- 
ness he  will  feel  pain,  and  manifest  disapproval.  His  moral 


74  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

instruction  goes  on  in  great  part  through  the  medium  of 
this  exercise  of  imagination  ;  for  it  leaves  with  him  images 
of  good  which  recur  to  him,  and  with  which  he  may  com- 
pare himself.  At  the  same  time  we  must  beware  of  mak- 
ing this  pass  for  the  whole  of  his  moral  training.  The  need 
of  moral  action,  so  far  from  being  superseded  by  this,  is 
only  increased.  The  most  abundant  contemplation  of  these 
scenes  is  compatible  with  perfect  moral  inactivity,  or  with 
a  course  of  action  opposed  to  that  which  secures  his  sym- 
pathy and  approval  when  seen  in  others.  The  feelings 
which  arise  from  such  working  of  the  imagination  must  be 
brought  into  contact  and  compared  with  the  feelings  and 
actions  called  into  operation  by  the  daily  school-life,  in  or- 
der that  they  may  check  and  stimulate  each  other.* 

Certain  62.   There  are  certain  states  of  being  incom- 

FsSnce'ar*"  patible  with  moral  training — disturbing  forces, 
m>oraiCe<fuc<a-  so  to  sPea^»  which  must  be  put  out  of  the  way. 
tion.  They  may  be  of  a  physical  kind :  thus,  the  cir- 

cumstances of  the  school  may  be  so  uncomfortable  as  to 
deaden  the  child's  natural  cheerfulness,  and  so  make  it  rest- 
less and  irritable.  Or  they  may  be  of  an  intellectual  kind : 
if  the  child  be  forced  on  with  its  tasks,  if  cleverness  be  what 
is  most  valued  and  praised,  and  goodness  overlooked,  the 
excitement  arising  from  the  efforts  to  show  cleverness  will 
take  possession  of  the  mind  and  subordinate  all  other  mo- 
tives. Or,  lastly,  they  may  be  of  a  moral  complexion  :  if 
any  of  the  stronger  passions  be  stimulated,  such  as  fear  or 
ambition,  the  gentler  feelings  have  no  room  to  grow  up. 
It  is  the  presence  of  the  first  and  third  of  these  states  that 
so  largely  banishes  moral  training  from  the  hQmes  of  the 
lowest  class  of  the  people.  The  second  is  characteristic  of 
school ;  but  the  third,  and  even  the  first,  though  they  now 
operate  there  perhaps  less  strongly  than  they  did,  are  yet 


MORAL   TRAINING— THE  FEELINGS.  75 

by  no  means  absent  from  it.     There  can  be  no  moral  train- 
ing without  repose,  serenity,  cheerfulness. 

Moral  edu-  6&  Moral  training  must  be  viewed  as  a  posi- 
tive0"*! Pa°si~  t^vc>  not  as  a  negat've>  process.  A  system  of 
negative  pro-  prohibitions  will  not  inspire  one  good  impulse. 
This  manner  of  educating,  though  very  com- 
mon, and  most  of  all  in  the  nursery,  because  very  easy,  is 
in  every  way  deficient.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  not  the 
means  of  repressing  faults  in  the  child  so  easily  as  of  en- 
couraging good  dispositions.  Then,  they  are  an  insufficient 
barrier  in  the  hour  of  trial ;  too  often  they  are  swept  away 
at  the  approach  of  evil.  Lastly,  they  can  never  meet  the 
full  exigencies  of  the  case.  We  may  have  prohibitions  for 
many  wrong  actions,  but  we  cannot  for  all.  But  a  positive 
principle  is  far-reaching  in  its  influence.  One  good  dispo- 
sition imbibed  will  strangle  ten  forms  of  vice.  There  are 
many  ways,  eg.,  in  which  a  child  may  annoy  his  compan- 
ions :  he  may  openly  strike  him,  or  call  him  names,  or  keep 
others  from  associating  with  him,  or  tell  tales  of  him,  or 
ridicule  him.  The  one  feeling  of  kindness  implies  the  ab- 
sence of  all  these.  This  positive  character  is  the  peculiar 
feature  of  the  teaching  of  Christian  morality  in  the  New 
Testament.  Our  blessed  Lord  does  not  say,  "  Thou  shalt 
not  kill,"  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  "  Thou  shalt  not  bear 
false  witness  against  thy  neighbor ;"  but,  "  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  And  to  the  same  effect  St.  Paul, 
when  he  says,  "  Overcome  evil  with  good."*  It  would 
seem  to  follow  from  this  principle  that  we  should  rather 
exhibit  what  is  right  for  their  imitation  than  what  is  wrong 
for  their  warning.  Vice  must  no  doubt  be  checked;  but 
this  is  best  done  on  its  actual  occurrence.  The  frequent 
portraying  of  it  has  a  bad  effect  on  the  tone  of  the  feelings, 
often  suggesting  the  consciousness  of  vices  to  which  the 
mind  has  hitherto  been  a  stranger. 


7 6  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

64.  Whilst  all  the  good  dispositions  must  in 
tesSn™  oWhe  due  time  be  carried  out  into  action,  we  should 
drejudiSaJs    be  careful  not  to  bring  them  prematurely  to  the 

test.  Before  we  ask  a  child  to  show  generosity, 
for  example,  we  must  have  previously  associated  pleasure 
in  its  mind  with  this  manner  of  acting,  in  which  case  its 
own  desire  will  correspond  to  your  wish.  Just  as  in  mental 
operations  we  should  ask  it  to  undertake  nothing  in  which 
there  is  not  a  fair  prospect  of  success  ;  so  in  moral  it  must 
be  saved  from  all  trials  which  it  is  not  able  to  bear ;  for,  if 
it  fails,  the  training  it  has  already  got  in  the  particular 
direction,  if  any,  goes  for  nothing.  The  work  must  be  be- 
gun again,  and  now  not  under  favorable  auspices ;  for  the 
selfish  feeling  has  taken  the  alarm.  Penetration  in  esti- 
mating the  child's  power  of  moral  resistance  is  no  small 
part  of  the  power  of  the  trainer.  It  need  hardly  be  added 
that  it  is  imprudent  to  leave  temptations  in  the  child's  way 
which  we  might  remove,  and  much  more  to  throw  them  in 
his  way,  which  is  sometimes  undesignedly  done  in  the 
course  of  instruction  ;  as  when  he  is  put,  by  a  particular 
question,  in  such  a  position  before  his  class  that  he  must 
either  admit  himself  guilty  of  a  fault  or  utter  an  untruth. 
Few  can  withstand  this  kind  of  temptation. 

65.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly  impressed  upon 
The  Teach-  the  teacher  to  exercise  the  strictest  self-control 

troi.  over  his  own  actions,  so  that  his  conduct  shall 

seem  to  be  consistent,  not  only  with  his  words, 
but  with  itself.  Success  in  this  is  the  teacher's  rarest  merit, 
at  the  same  time  that  it  is  his  surest  source  of  influence. 
We  are  apt  to  think  that  children  do  not  notice  the  slight 
liberties,  as  we  call  them,  which  teachers  occasionally  take 
in  their  dealings  with  them.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  They 
are  keenly  observant ;  and  the  injury  done  is  the  greater 
from  the  fact  of  their  dispositions  not  being  yet  fixed.  Les- 


MORAL    TRAINING— THE  FEELINGS.  77 

sons  of  benevolence,  for  example,  conveyed  in  harsh,  loud 
accents,  are  worse  than  useless.  Or  what  are  they  to  think 
if  they  see  us  giving  way  to  passion,  whilst  we  urge  gentle- 
tleness  on  them  ?  if  they  hear  us  using  unkind  words,  whilst 
we  profess  to  recommend  kindness  to  them  ?  if,  in  a  moment 
of  our  ill-humor,  they  meet  a  rude  repulse  when  they  are 
making  an  affectionate  approach  to  us ;  or,  worse  still,  if 
they  hear  us  exaggerating  or  breaking  a  promise,  whilst  yet 
we  dare  to  impress  on  them  the  habit  of  truthfulness  ? 
This  is  a  sad  reflection  for  teachers ;  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  that  the  bewildering  contrasts  which  children  notice 
between  precept  and  practice  in  them  is  the  reason  why  so 
much  labor  in  training  runs  to  waste.  If  our  conduct  do 
not  point  uniformly,  under  all  circumstances,  in  the  same 
direction  as  our  precepts,  we  cannot  be  surprised  that  the 
children's  dispositions  acquire  no  fixed  bent. 

66.  Whilst  right  action  is  the  natural  issue  of 
fluenceVfac-  rignt  feeling,  the  habit  of  action  has,  no  doubt, 
fle"ing.°n  a  reflex  influence  on  the  feelings.  It  is  on  this 
account  prudent  to  encourage,  in  the  intercourse 
of  the  children,  some  acts  which  are,  in  the  doing,  mere  bits 
of  ceremony.  To  take  an  example  from  the  family  circle  : 
many  children  are  accustomed  to  bid  their  parents  good- 
night by  the  shaking  of  hands,  or  in  a  still  more  affectionate 
manner.  Acts  like  these  are  by  no  means  essential  to  the 
feeling  of  love, as  between  parent  and  child;  but  noysensible 
person  will  undervalue  such  symbols  of  feeling;  for  the  real- 
ity is  more  closely  connected  with  them  in  early  life  than  we 
are  apt  to  imagine.  The  same  principle  may  be  carried  out 
in  school  to  a  certain  extent.  If  we  make  a  child  close  his 
eyes  and  his  hands  in  prayer,  we  shall  in  the  end  increase  his 
feel  ing  of  solemnity;  if  we  insist  on  some  respectful  word  or 
gesture  when  he  addresses  us,  we  strengthen  the  foundation 
of  a  feeling  of  respectfulness  to  superiors  ;  and  so  with  other 


78  I         EARLY  ED UCA TION. 

acts  that  might  be  named,*  and  which  will  readily  occur  to 
the  teacher. 

67.  The  teacher  will  often  find  that,  after  all 
difficuftiefsthc  nis  most  laborious  and  prayerful  efforts,  he 
Moral  Educa-  makes  less  progress  in  the  moral  training  of  his 

tion  has  to 

contend  with. charge  than  he  might  reasonably  hope  to  make. 
He  may  do  well  to  remember,  in  such  a  case, 
that  their  moral  training  does  not  depend  solely  on  him.  It 
is  but  a  small  part  of  the  day  that  he  has  the  children  with 
him  ;  and  the  training  of  their  homes  may  contradict,  or  at 
least  not  support,  that  of  the  school.  Besides,  for  this 
reason  he  may  have  had  much  to  undo.  These  things  are 
mentioned,  not  to  cool  his  zeal,  or  diminish  his  labor,  but  to 
suggest  reasons  why  he  should  not  be  discouraged  by  obsta- 
cles which,  if  they  are  to  be  removed  at  all,  must  be  removed 
by  others  than  himself.  It  may  be  that  he  has  no  access  to 
the  family  circle  of  his  charge  ;  but  should  he  have — and  he 
should  by  all  means  try  to  have — he  should  use  all  diligence, 
mingled  with  prudence,  to  bring  its  moral  influence  on  the 
child  into  harmony  with  his  own.  Alas  !  that  he  should  so 
often  have  to  labor  to  purify  it,  instead  of  having  simply  to 
support  it  in  his  own  sphere ;  which  is  certainly  the  natural 
relation  between  the  influence  of  the  school  and  that  of  the 
family.  He  should  also  bear  in  mind  that  no  man  can  esti- 
mate his  own  influence,  and  that  in  all  cases,  but  especially 
when  in  contact  with  the  young,  this  is  much  greater  than  is 
supposed,  although  not  always  immediately  perceptible. 

It  remains  to  advert  to  some  of  the  principal  feelings  which 
it  must  be  the  object  of  education  to  cherish. 

Feelings  68'    *The  first   Place   is  due  to  those  which  we 

which  should  should  entertain  towards  God,  both  on  their  own 

—our  relation  account  and  because  they  are  the  guarantee  of 

^e>  all  the  rest.     Love  is  the"  earliest    emotion   of 


MORAL    TRAINING— THE  FEELINGS.  79 

which  the  child  is  conscious ;  love  to  its  parents,  who  sup- 
ply its  wants,  and  who  approach  it  with  love  written  on 
their  countenances.  The  love  directed  towards  herself  the 
pious  mother  seeks  to  elevate  to  God,  as  our  heavenly 
Father,  the  common  source  of  all  good  to  both  parent  and 
child,  She  speaks  of  Him  in  this  character,  and  she  acts 
accordingly;  and  by  directing  her  own  affections  to  God, 
and  bearing  up  those  of  the  child  along  with  them,  she  will 
succeed  in  fixing  them  on  Him.  This  is  the  example  for 
the  teacher  to  follow ;  this  is  the  process  he  must  continue, 
or  which  he  must  begin  if  it  is  not  already  begun.  He,  too, 
must  present  the  benigner  aspect  of  the  Divine  character  to 
the  child  ;  God,  the  Father  of  men  who  loves  all  and 
wishes  all  to  love  Him,  and  who  is  constantly  doing  good  to 
all  His  creatures,  before  he  presents  God  to  him  as  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Judge  of  men,  at  whose  tribunal  all  must  give 
account  of  their  actions.  And  he  will  speak  of  God  as  the 
loving  Father,  not  only  in  the  formal  lesson  or  the  formal 
devotion,  but  at  all  times  as  occasion  requires,  so  that  the 
children  may  feel  their  dependence  on  Him  for  all  things, 
and  for  all  things  give  thanks. 

69.  With  love  there  must  be  inculcated  rever- 
Reverence.  ence ;  for  God,  whilst  he  is  the  source  of  all 
good,  is  the  perfection  of  greatness  and  power. 
This  feeling  may  early  be  inspired  in  children,  or  rather 
drawn  out  of  them;  for  it  is  natural  to  infancy.  "Thou, 
God,  seest  me,"  finds  a  ready  access  to  the  child's  heart. 
Reverence  and  love  should  grow  up  together.  When  the 
parent  speaks  of  God  as  the  heavenly  Father,  the  whole 
tone  and  manner  in  which  she  speaks  impress  the  child 
with  a  sense  of  solemnity.  But  she  also  inculcates  rever- 
ence directly,  more  particularly  by  dwelling  on  the  Divine 
attributes  of  omnipresence  and  omniscience.  So  also  should 
the  teacher.  If  he  be  himself  reverent  in  manner,  in  word, 


8o  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

and  in  deed,  and  exact  reverent  action  from  the  children, 
he  will  prevent  that  habit  of  irreverence  which  is  com- 
monly urged  as  the  besetting  sin  of  youth.*  It  is  of  un- 
speakable moment  to  have  reverence  impressed  on  the 
heart  in  infancy ;  its  fruits  will  be  manifest  over  a  lifetime. 

Submission  70.  Reverence  for  God  implies  reverence  for 
to  HIS  will.  pjis  will>  Q£  which  the  test  is  submission  to  it. 
The  will  of  God,  as  expressed  in  His  Word,  must  be  kept 
before  the  young  as  their  rule  of  action,  recognized  as  that 
by  which  both  teacher  and  pupils  must  guide  themselves, 
formally  and  reverently  turned  to  for  its  decision.  Prayer 
must  be  made  for  strength  to  keep  it,  and  it  must  be  shown 
how,  "  in  the  keeping  of  it,  there  is  great  reward." 

Our  social        *^"  ^  t*ie  duties  that  flow  from  our  social 

relation—       relations,  truthfulness  claims  to  be  first  men- 
Truthfulness.  ..... 

tioneq  ;  that  sincerity  by  which  men  know  what 

we  profess  to  think,  say,  or  do,  is  what  we  really  think,  say, 
or  do.  Truthfulness,  as  a  steady  principle,  does  not  seem 
to  be  of  spontaneous  growth  in  the  child.  He  does  not  of 
himself  see  the  necessity  of  giving  exact  representations  of 
the  past  and  the  future  for  their  own  sakes ;  living  in  the 
present,  he  sees  nothing  in  the  facts  which  come  before 
him  which  should  prevent  him  from  coloring  them  after  his 
fancy.  He  practises  both  simulation  and  dissimulation, 
whether  for  some  private  interest  of  his  own,  or  to  gain  our 
applause  for  the  moment.  Truthfulness  is  the  virtue  of 
widest  application;  fortunately  it  is  also  that  for  the  culti- 
vation of  which  there  is  the  most  constant  opportunity. 
The  child  comes  into  contact  with  the  teacher  and  his  own 
comrades.  For  ourselves,  let  us  deal  truthfully  with  him  ; 
say  nothing  that  is  not  literally  true ;  make  no  exaggera- 
tions;  leave  no  promises  unfulfilled;  have  a  good  memory 
for  all  the  expectations  we  may  have  led  him  to  entertain ; 


MORAL  TRAINING— THE  FEELINGS.        8 1 

make  no  excuses  for  deviating  from  our  word,  since,  even 
if  these  are  valid,  he  will  not  see  that  they  are  so ;  be  as 
scrupulous  with  him  as  we  are  with  our  friend ;  presume 
not  that  our  love  for  him,  much  less  our  authority,  will 
warrant  us  in  deceiving  him  or  trifling  with  him,  since  the 
greater  these  are  the  more  will  he  be  confounded  by  our 
conduct.  Let  us  remember  that  even  a  single  instance  of 
untruth  may  unsettle  his  perception  of  the  obligation  of 
truthfulness.  It  is  only  then  that  we  can  in  turn  exact  the 
same  from  him.  Let  us  listen  to  no  exaggerated  stories ; 
enforce  the  performance  of  every  promise ;  reward  his  con- 
fessions, as  far  as  we  may,  with  forgiveness ;  without  ap- 
pearing to  be  suspicious,  scrutinize  when  we  have  ground 
to  suspect ;  think  nothing  that  concerns  the  habit  of  truth 
of  slight  consequence ;  make  the  truthfulness  of  one  a 
matter  in  which  all  are  interested.  Further  let  us  rejoice 
if  in  an  accidental  mis-statement  our  children  volunteer  to 
correct  us ;  treat  all  with  confidence  till  we  have  detected 
any  one  deceiving  us,  and  then  not  restore  our  confidence 
till  in  the  eyes  of  all  he  has  deserved  it ;  show  the  pain  and 
surprise  we  feel  at  a  breach  of  trust ;  be  of  one  mind, 
humor,  and  temper,  as  far  as  possible,  not  doing  at  one 
time  what  we  repudiate  at  another ;  treat  all  the  little  ones 
habitually  with  kindness  and  frankness  banishing  fear, 
which  is  the  parent  of  lies ;  endeavor,  by  careful  observa- 
tion, to  gain  experience  in  discerning  and  tracing  the  mo- 
tives of  falsehood,  as  this  penetration  will  give  us  great 
power.  And,  finally,  while  putting  the  disposition  of  our 
children  to  the  proof,  let  us  not  lead  them  into  temptation  ; 
e.g.,  in  speaking  of  honesty,  we  should  not  ask  a  child  be- 
fore the  class  whether  he  ever  abstracted  anything  from 
what  his  mother  sent  him  for ;  in  speaking  of  kindness, 
whether  he  has  always  been  kind  to  his  little  brother ;  in 
speaking  of  prayer,  whether  he  always  says  his  prayers 
night  and  morning.  Such  questions  are  a  snare  for  the 
6 


82  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

conscience,  by  offering  a  temptation  that  can  hardly  be 
resisted  :  the  blushes  that  accompany  the  answers  are  often 
but  too  plain  and  painful  a  proof  that  the  child  has  fallen, 
and  knows  that  he  has.  (§  64.)* 

72.  Next  to  truthfulness  may  be  mentioned 
benevolence  or  kindness ;  that  feeling,  the  oppo- 
site of  selfishness,  which  leads  us  to  think  of,  and  sympa- 
thize with,  the  feelings  of  others.  A  great  deal  of  unkind- 
ness  amongst  children  arises  not  so  much  from  deliberate 
intention,  as  from  thoughtlessness.  The  crowning  test  of 
kindness  of  feeling  is  the  display  of  self-denial  to  oblige 
our  neighbor. — "  A  little  boy  came  to  school  one  day  with- 
out his  lunch  ;  and  when  the  rest  were  eating  theirs  at 
play-time  he  had  none.  The  teacher  divided  his  own,  and 
called  one  of  the  pupils  to  deliver  a  part  of  it  to  the  fasting 
one ;  which  he  did  gladly,  as  it  called  for  no  sacrifice.  He 
felt  satisfaction  at  seeing  the  want  of  his  comrade  relieved  : 
which  was  heightened  by  the  pleasure  felt  and  expressed  by 
the  teacher.  Not  long  after,  the  same  pupil  was  observed 
quietly  to  perform  a  similar  act  of  generosity  to  another 
companion  ;  on  this  occasion  at  his  own  expense.  The 
teacher,  who  saw  the  deed,  highly  approved  of  it." — Had 
the  teacher  prematurely  taken  a  part  from  the  pupil  himself 
in  the  first  instance,  he  would  not  have  perceived  the  jus- 
tice of  such  a  proceeding,  he  would  even  have  felt  op- 
pressed ;  and,  so  far  from  a  strong  impulse  to  generous 
action  having  been  lodged  in  his  breast,  the  selfish  princi- 
ple would  have  been  stimulated  by  being  thrown  on  the 
defensive. — "  Some  children  were  playing  together,  when 
one  accidentally  fell  and  hurt  himself,  at  the  same  time 
soiling  his  clothes.  His  companions,  instead  of  sympa- 
thizing with  him,  and  doing  what  they  could  to  console 
him,  turned  the  accident  into  matter  for  their  own  amuse- 
ment ;  except  one  little  girl,  who  went  forward,  helped  him 


MORAL  TRAINING— THE  FEELINGS.        &3 

up,  tried  to  clean  his  clothes,  and,  by  her  sympathy,  lessened 
the  pain  and  vexation  he  felt.  She  had  asked  assistance 
from  his  playmates,  but  none  would  give  it.  The  teacher, 
happening  to  come  to  the  window,  saw  what  was  going  on. 
and  immediately  came  out  and  gave  what  aid  was  necessary. 
By  her  kind  words,  she  banished  from  the  sufferer  all  sense 
of  annoyance.  Of  course,  she  did  not  fail  to  commend  the 
well-doer ;  to  the  others  she  said  nothing,  trusting  that  the 
practical  rebuke  they  had  received  would  work  a  sense  of 
shame  in  them.  In  a  day  or  two  after,  when  giving  a  lesson 
on  kindness,  the  picture  which  she  drew  so  struck  them,  by 
its  resemblance  to  what  had  happened  (and  that  without 
any  direct  references  on  her  part),  that  many  by  their  silence 
and  others  by  the  tones  of  their  voice  testified  their  con- 
sciousness of  the  unkindness  they  had  been  guilty  of ;  and 
they  themselves  commended  the  well-doer.  Ere  many  days 
elapsed,  the  teacher  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  that  her 
gentle  and  prudent  training  was  not  ineffectual." — The  feel- 
ing of  kindness  has  infinite  room  for  showing  itself,  from 
the  great  number  of  interests  affected  in  the  intercourse  of 
children  ;  in  this  respect  it  is  second  only  to  truthfulness. 
Where  kindness  is,  it  banishes  a  number  of  common  school- 
faults  ;  such  as  rudeness  of  manner,  calling  names,  and  the 
like. 

73.  Honesty,  or  a  due  regard  to  what  belongs 
to  another,  is  one  of  the  virtues  that  must  be 
implanted  in  the  child  from  without,  as  there  is  no  natural 
instinct  which  leads  him  to  observe  it.  His  desire  of 
possessing  is  at  first  indiscriminate  and  unreasoning,  so 
that  it  needs  to  be  regulated  with  much  prudence.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  prevail  on  a  child  to  restore  what  is  not  his 
own,  under  promise  of  receiving  something  else ;  this  is  to 
thrust  out  one  vice  (if,  indeed,  it  does  so)  by  means  of  an- 
other. Neither  will  simple  command  or  force,  though  per- 


84  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

haps  legitimate  means  of  influence  in  the  circumstances, 
inspire  the  right  feeling,  though  it  may  put  the  property 
into  the  hands  of  its  owner.  Some  children  have  a 
stronger  tendency  to  dishonesty  than  others,  and  especially 
the  lower  and  poorer  classes,  who  are  subject  to  bad  influ- 
ences at  home,  it  often  seems  like  an  instinct  amongst 
them.  Perhaps  the  best  way  is  to  seize  the  moment  of 
inculcating  honesty  in  a  child,  not  when  he  has  been  the 
aggressor,  but  when  he  has  been  the  sufferer.  He  then 
feels  the  justice  of  your  proceedings,  and  is  in  a  mood  fully 
to  assent  to  them.  He  cannot  say  a  word  in  self-palliation, 
should  he  ever  in  turn  become  the  aggressor.  The  teacher 
should  show  a  punctilious  regard  to  the  right  of  property 
himself.  All  things  that  are  found  must  be  scrupulously 
returned  to  their  owners,  for  whom  search  must  be  made  ; 
so  that  importance  shall  be  seen  to  be  attached  even  to  the 
smallest  thing.  Those  who  deliver  up  property  which  they 
find  must  be  commended  ;  those  who  are  detected  conceal- 
ing it  disgraced.  The  teacher  may  occasionally  send  them 
on  little  errands  for  such  things  as  it  tries  the  child's  virtue 
to  refrain  from.  If  the  play-ground  be  fully  furnished, 
there  is  room  for  the  display  of  honesty  in  it  as  well  as  in 
the  school.  An  incident  like  the  following  might  occur  in 
any  school  where  honesty  is  well  inculcated  :  "  Two  child- 
ren found  a  sixpence.  None  saw  them ;  yet  they  brought 
it  to  the  master.  He  made  search  for  the  owner,  both  in 
school  and  in  the  village,  but  without  success.  No  one  ap- 
pearing to  claim  it,  master  and  scholars  had  to  determine 
what  was  to  be  done  with  it.  It  now  really  belonged  to  the 
two  children  who  found  it,  as  the  master  was  at  pains  to 
explain  ;  but  they  proposed,  in  the  feeling  that  what  had 
come  into  their  possession  in  that  accidental  way  could 
hardly  be  called  theirs,  to  give  it  to  a  poor  man.  This  was 
done,  amidst  the  satisfaction  of  all,  and  with  the  approval 
of  the  master."  This  incident  showed  a  high  sense  of  hon- 


THE   WILL.  85 

esty,  mingled  with  generosity,  and  could  not  fail  to  be  felt 
by  the  teacher  as  an  adequate  reward  for  all  his  labor  in 
training  these  children.  What  would  have  been  the  effect 
on  their  sense  of  honesty,  had  he  kept  the  money  to  him- 
self when  it  was  first  brought  to  him  or  even  after  they  had 
failed  to  find  the  owner  ?  What  a  shock  would  have  been 
given  to  their  virtuous  inclinations  ! 

74.  As  to  the  personal  virtues,  it  may  be  sulR- 

Feehngs  * 

primarily  af-  cient  here  to  name  those  deserving  of  chief 
tHviduaf— e  '""attention.  First,  modesty  of  bearing,  as  op- 
Pifnctuaiity  Pose<^  to  forwardness  and  vanity  on  the  one 
Cleanliness,  hand,  and  to  timidity  and  shyness  on  the  other : 
the  one  of  these  extremes  is  to  be  repressed  by 
withholding  the  stimulants  of  word  or  manner  which  minis- 
ter to  it,  the  other  by  a  gentle  encouragement  of  the  child 
in  his  right  conduct.  Secondly,  order,  including  cleanliness 
and  punctuality ;  for  enforcing  which  the  adequate  means 
are  personal  example  and  a  daily  personal  inspection  of  the 
pupils  at  once  strict  and  steady  in  its  requirements.* 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE    WILL. 

75.  THE  Will  is  the  immediate  spring  of  all 
importance  Our  actions.     The  understanding  may  perceive 

of  training 

the  Will.  what  our  duty  is ;  the  feelings  may  present  us 
with  motives  to  do  it ;  but  it  is  this  third  power 
which  determines  whether  it  is  to  be  done  or  not.  We  can- 
not wonder,  then,  that  in  the  business  of  life  it  is  commonly 
viewed  as  the  most  important  of  our  faculties,  as  that,  in- 
deed, which  gives  its  complexion  to  the  whole  character. 


86  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

"  Character,"  it  has  been  said,  "  is  a  completely  fashioned 
will."  Strength  of  will  is  the  measure  of  a  man's  moral  ex- 
istence; by  which  quality  we  mean  the  aptitude  for  making 
a  deliberate  choice  and  of  holding  steadily  to  the  choice  we 
have  seen  reason  to  make,  and  not  "  obstinacy,  a  stubborn- 
ness of  temper  which  assigns  no  reason  but  mere  will  for  a 
constancy  which  acts  in  the  nature  of  dead  weight  rather 
than  of  strength,  resembling  less  the  reaction  of  a  powerful 
spring  than  the  gravitation  of  a  big  stone."  Strength  of 
will  is  that  without  which  power  of  intellect  may  make  a 
man  an  object  of  wonder  or  of  admiration,  but  gives  him  no 
influence  over  those  inferior  to  himself;  that  without  which 
accomplishments  are  nothing  more  in  life  than  so  much 
ornamental  fringe-work  ;  that  without  which  strength  of 
feeling,  even  of  right  feeling,  is  of  doubtful  benefit  to  so- 
ciety around,  whilst  it  certainly  often  makes  its  possessor  a 
dupe;  that  without  which  incessant  activity  effects  but 
little,  making  little  progress  amidst  all  its  motion,  and  fre- 
quently returning  after  all  its  labor  to  where  it  set  out. 
Strength  of  will  is  that  by  which  most  of  what  is  really 
great  in  the  world,  or  in  one's  own  personal  history,  is 
achieved  ;  the  compensation  given  to  many  for  the  want  of 
brilliant  parts  ;  the  guarantee  of  usefulness,  credit,  peace  to 
him  who  has  it.  In  a  word,  it  is  that  by  which  a  man  is  to 
be  loved  or  feared,  obeyed  or  resisted,  respected  or  despised. 
Man's  great  struggle  with  himself,  as  a  being  made  for  ac- 
tivity, is  to  obtain  the  power  over  this  balance  of  his  na- 
ture ;  so  that  he  may  direct  his  capacities  with  steady  pur- 
pose to  fixed  ends.  His  education  should  aid  him  in  this  ; 
any  which  does  not  is  deficient  in  its  very  essence.  But  the 
training  of  the  will  is  the  great  difficulty  in  education  ;  it 
needs  strenuousness,  watchfulness,  self-denial  in  the  educa- 
tor ;  its  advantages  are  remote,  whilst  it  causes  present 
trouble ;  it  is  an  exercise  of  faith,  not  of  sight.  Of  this, 
as  of  the  whole  of  moral  training,  the  foundation  must  be 


THE  WILL.  87 

laid  in  infancy ;  and  therefore  the  attention  of  the  infant 
teacher  is  here  strongly  directed  to  this  part  of  his  work. 

The  two          "76.  The  defects  which  are  commonly  observ- 
defects  com-  abie  m  tne  will,  and  which  all  recognize  as  de- 

monly  ob- 
servable in     tractmg  from  dignity  of  character  and  from  use- 

"llL  fulness,  are  twofold.  The  one  is  weakness, 
which  shows  itself  either  in  the  form  of  irresolution  when 
one  is  called  on  to  choose  a  line  of  conduct  in  any  particular 
case  ;  or  in  the  form  of  inconstancy,  that  is,  inability  to  hold 
to  our  choice  pertinaciously  over  a  time  and  through  variety 
of  circumstances  presenting,  it  may  be,  obstacles  to  his  de- 
sign. The  other  is  what  is  called  wilfulness — that  state  of 
temper  in  which  the  will  acts  in  obedience  to  the  nearest 
motive  at  the  time,  without  a  fair  consideration  of  all  the 
motives  which  should  influence  action  in  the  case.  Wil- 
fulness is  a  vice  arising  from  the  misdirection  of  a  virtue ; 
for  it  implies  a  strength  of  will,  which,  rightly  directed,  is 
what  we  wish  to  encourage. — It  is  within  the  observation 
of  all  that  both  of  these  faults  exhibit  themselves  strongly 
in  infancy. 

leadtoVhesV  77-  The  causes  of  them  lie  on  the  very  surface 
defects.  of  things ;  we  see  them  acting  in  the  plainest 
manner  every  day  on  children.  Let  a  child  be  brought  up 
so  that  by  the  overwatchful  anxiety  of  its  guardians  all  its 
wants  are  anticipated,  its  gestures,  and  even  its  looks,  scru- 
tinized with  the  view  of  divining  its  desires,  all  situations 
in  which  it  would  feel  the  need  of  doing  something  for  itself 
carefully  excluded :  the  nerves  of  exertion  are  cut ;  inde- 
cision and  helplessness  are  exhaled  from  the  stagnant 
waters ;  it  is  miserable  when  alone ;  only  when  being  at- 
tended to  does  it  show  a  sort  of  insipid  meaningless  satis- 
faction. Such  a  child  is  destined  to  be  trodden  down  or 
pushed  aside  in  the  race  of  life. — Let  a  child  be  placed  in 
circumstances  where  its  nature  is  not  understood  or  sym- 


88  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

pathized  with,  having  none  to  appreciate  its  motives,  to  en- 
courage it  to  exertion,  to  caution  it  when  the  tempter  leads  it 
astray,  or  to  approve  it  when  it  has  triumphed  ;  let  a  harsh, 
unfeeling  discipline  drag  it  over  the  wilderness  of  fear,  anx- 
ious only  for  submission  ;  the  will  is  crushed,  the  power  and 
desire  of  activity  wither,  while  sullenness,  gloom,  dark  sus- 
picion, cunning,  supplant  the  nobler  qualities  of  openness 
and  decision. — Let  «.  child  be  brought  up  under  no  fixed 
discipline,  its  guardian  not  being  aware  of  the  importance 
of  this,  or  not  capable  of  carrying  it  out,  or  perhaps  not 
being  much  with  the  child,  thus  ruling  it  only  at  intervals, 
while  at  other  times  it  is  left  to  itself:  the  unsteadiness 
and  violent  contrast  to  which  it  is  subjected  must  unsettle 
its  dispositions ;  its  own  whim  or  the  suggestions  of  chance 
will  appear  as  binding  on  it  as  the  commands  it  receives. 
Such  a  child  grows  up  unsubdued  and  unreasoning. — Again, 
let  the  activity  of  a  child  be  confined  within  the  narrow 
groove  of  formality  and  routine;  let  it  be  surrounded  by 
laws  which  prescribe  for  its  conduct  down  to  minutest  tri- 
fles ;  let  directions  be  given  wherever  there  is  danger  of  it 
erring ;  let  the  smallest  deviation  from  the  accustomed  path 
and  pace  call  forth  a  senseless  expression  of  affected  wonder 
and  dislike :  its  will  is  swamped :  when  it  does  right  it  is 
never  of  its  own  choice;  it  becomes  timid  and  fearful  of 
responsibility. — Once  more,  let  us  put  the  case  in  which  the 
affections  of  its  guardians,  exercised  without  prudence,  sys- 
tematically allow  the  child  perfect  freedom  from  restraint, 
letting  it  choose  for  itself  before  it  has  light  to  guide  its 
choice,  viewing  its  desires  as  law,  or  perhaps  weakly  pur- 
chasing ease  by  the  gratification  of  them ;  this  makes  em- 
phatically the  "  spoilt,"  or  wilful  child.  The  will  is  delib- 
erately thrown,  bound  hand  and  foot,  amongits  rebellious 
subjects  the  passions,  who  strip  it  of  its  dignity  and  reign  in 
its  place — a  miserable  anarchy.  This  child's  path  is  being 
set  with  thorns. — We  see- such  pictures  in  the  family  circle  ; 
and  it  is  certain  that  we  often  see  them  still  more  deeply 


THE  WILL.  89 

colored  in  the  school.  How  may  the  parent  and  the  teacher 
be  preserved  from  so  misapprehending  this  part  of  their 
work  ? 

TO  train          78-  The  will>  while  it  is  the  supreme  arbiter 
the  win  we    of  our  conduct,  acts  in  obedience  to  motives. 

must  inspire 

right  motives  The  uneducated  will  obey  those  which  are 
nearest  at  the  time,  though  they  may  be  the 
lowest  of  all  motives,  the  animal  propensities.  The  object 
of  moral  education  is  to  inspire  the  higher  motives  as  an 
indwelling  power,  and  to  accustom  the  will  to  that  suspense 
which  is  the  first  step  towards  obeying  them.  These  higher 
motives  are  the  moral  feelings  spoken  of  in  last  chapter, 
which  bear  upon  our  conduct  in  all  our  relations.  These 
feelings  are,  as  has  been  seen,  inculcated  expressly  in  the 
character  of  motives ;  and  their  obligation  is  strengthened 
by  those  sanctions  of  religion  which  have  naturally  so  much 
power  over  the  young  mind.  It  is  hoped  in  this  way  to 
keep  them  constantly  stationed,  as  it  were,  in  presence  of 
the  child,  and  to  invest  them  with  a  dignity  which  shall 
throw  the  lower  feelings  into  the  shade.  Thus,  in  cultivat- 
ing the  moral  feelings,  we  are  at  the  same  time  educating 
the  will,  inasmuch  as  we  are  providing  motives  for.it.  In 
matters,  again,  whose  obligation  lies  in  positive  precept  (in 
connection  with  which  the  training  of  the  will  is  in  the  first 
instance  largely  carried  on),  the  feeling  of  pleasure  and 
satisfaction  which  the  child  may  be  made  to  feel  in  doing 
what  is  right,  that  is,  what  we  wish  him  to  do,  is  the  motive 
we  should  study  to  present. 

in  infancy  79<  *n  infancy,  however,  we  cannot  depend  on 
these  mustthe  action  of  these  motives  :  they  are  just  being 
mented  by  formed  ;  they  have  not  effected  a  full  lodgment 
thority  of3""  in  the  mind  ;  the  character  is  still  fluid  and  easily 
teacher,  disturbed.  These  motives  must  be  supplemented 
and  strengthened  by  motives  of  a  stronger  and  more  reliable 


90  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

sort,  acting  from  without.  Adults  need  this  also ;  and  ac- 
cordingly the  necessities  of  their  own  position,  and  the 
opinion  of  society,  come  to  support  their  conviction  of  right, 
In  childhood,  in  proportion  to  its  want  of  development, 
there  is  needed  a  support  more  palpable,  direct,  irresistible  ; 
an  authority  which  has  the  power  of  immediately  attaining 
what  it  imposes,  and  which  leaves  no  way  of  evading  its  de- 
mands. The  direct  authority  of  the  teacher,  then,  is  the 
foundation  of  all  education  of  the  will ;  everything  depends 
on  the  manner  in  which  this  is  exercised. 

character-  80.  It  should  not  be  difficult  to  establish 
sound °au*  authority  over  children.  In  forming  the  habit 
thonty.  Q£  obedience,  the  teacher  should  begin  by  remov- 
ing as  many  occasions  of  disobedience  as  he  can,  disobedi- 
ence being  frequently  exhibited'  in  school,  simply  because 
obedience  is  difficult  in  the  circumstances.  With  this  view 
he  must  look  to  proper  organization  and  arrangement  for 
aid.  This  course  will  enable  him  to  concentrate  his  author- 
ity.— Children  will  be  occasionally  rebellious,  from  their 
volatility;  but  obstinacy  need  not  be  feared  unless  there  be 
great  mismanagement,  for  they  cannot  ultimately  resist  us, 
and  when  they  are  made  to  do  a  thing  over  and  over,  they 
come  to  think  it  natural ;  moreover,  it  is  an  instinct  in  them 
to  look  up  to  their  parents  and  guardians.  If  an  obstinate 
child  is  introduced  into  school,  it  is  not  by  any  single  stroke 
of  energy  that  he  is  to  be  subdued ;  kindness  and  patience 
are  the  only  means  that  will  be  successful. — The  authority 
of  the  teacher  should  not  be  founded  on  his  personal  supe- 
riority. The  selfish  tendency  is  strong  in  childhood,  and 
will  surely  be  incited  to  resistance ;  and,  if  we  taunt  a  child 
afterwards  with  his  submission,  we  only  harden  him  to  dis- 
obey us  at  the  next  opportunity.  The  manifestation  of 
strong  passion,  or  bitterness  of  humor,  goes  to  place  author- 
ity on  this  insecure  personal  basis ;  whereas  calmness,  with 


THE  WILL.  91 

firmness,  goes  to  elevate  it  above  all  personal  considerations. 
"  A  teacher  was  one  day  collecting  the  caps  of  his  infant 
class  to  put  them  in  the  drawer,  where  they  were  usually  kept 
during  lesson.  One  little  fellow  kept  his  back,  and  threw  it 
at  the  teacher  as  he  was  going  with  the  others  to  the 
drawer.  He  was  quietly  ordered  to  lift  it  up,  go  to  his  place 
again,  and  then  deliver  it  in  the  right  way.  He  took  it  up 
and  again  threw  it,  but  in  a  gentle  way.  It  fell  on  the  floor 
once  more.  Once  more  he  was  calmly  ordered  to  re-deliver 
it.  He  felt  the  words  of  firmness;  and  the  third  time  he 
conformed.  Without  losing  temper,  the  teacher  made  a 
remark  or  two  to  the  child,  and  to  the  class.  Upon  the  next 
opportunity  for  showing  his  disposition,  he  was  among  the 
first  to  follow  the  rule.  And  not  only  so,  but  he  said  to  his 
teacher,  '  I  have  done  it  right  this  time.'  "  Willing  obedi- 
ence was  rendered  by  him ;  had  anger  or  bitterness  been 
exhibited  in  the  teacher's  dealing  with  the  case,  obedience 
might  indeed  have  been  extracted,  but  not  an  obedience 
like  this. — Authority  must  be  thoroughly  established,  so 
that  there  need  be  no  fear  of  its  being  available  to  the  ex- 
tent to  which  it  may  be  thought  advisable  to  use  it.  Its 
limit  should  not  be  known  to  the  pupil ;  but  should  be 
to  him  indefinitely  far  off,  so  that  he  may  be  full  of  the  con- 
viction that,  however  far  he  may  go,  it  will  still  compass 
him.  Only  an  authority  founded  on  kindness  and  justice, 
from  which  he  finds  it  impossible  to  withhold  respect  be- 
cause they  assure  him  that  the  teacher  seeks  his  happiness, 
can  attain  this  character.— If  authority  is  real,  it  will  show 
a  consciousness  of  its  own  power  and  dignity.  Feeling  that 
it  is  supreme,  it  will  not  be  solicitous  to  prove  that  it  is  so. 
Its  propriety  needs  not  to  be  made  matter  of  demonstration  ; 
its  reality  will  be  made  matter  of  feeling.  Its  own  utter- 
ances will  be  its  sanction.  An  authority  which  leans  on  any 
thing  else  than  its  own  expression,  has  no  substance.  The 
big  threatenings,  the  indefinite  hints,  and  the  shadowy  im- 


92  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

ages  of  impending  terror,  by  which  some  seek  to  uphold 
their  authority  with  children,  are  really  the  signals  of  dis- 
tress, by  which  those  who  are  conscious  they  do  not  possess 
the  authority  they  ought  proclaim  the  fact.  The  person 
who  has  it  most  shows  it  least  by  external  signs. 

The  main-       gi.  Direct  authority  is  not  a  power  to  be  ex- 

tenance  of 

the  just  pro-  ercised  indiscriminately,  but  only  where  it  is 
tween  obedi-  needed.  It  must  supplement  and  strengthen 
frJSdonfcon-  motives,  not  supersede  them.  The  perfection 
^rfcctlon  of  °^  Discipline  lies  in  maintaining  the  just  propor- 
discipiine.  tion  of  freedom  to  obedience.*  This  varies. 
In  infancy  it  is  small ;  so  that  the  whole  period,  morally 
denned,  might  be  denned  as  the  period  of  obedience. 
Freedom,  before  the  child  can  choose  what  is  good  for  him, 
is  hurtful ;  obedience,  absolute  obedience,  as  has  been  said, 
is  "no  less  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  his  existence 
than  to  the  formation  of  his  moral  character."  It  is  the 
first  step  in  his  education  to  freedom.  Still,  even  in  in- 
fancy, there  is  a  narrow  sphere  within  which  the  child  may 
have  freedom  ;  the  sphere  not  so  much  of  moral  as  of  ani- 
mal or  natural  activity.  But  the  sphere  is  a  constantly 
widening  one ;  and  it  is  in  not  recognizing  this  feature  of 
it,  it  is  in  attempting  to  maintain  the  same  degree  of  sub- 
jection in  children  throughout  different  periods,  that  the 
most  common  and  the  gravest  error  in  disciplining  the  will 
lies.  There  is  a  strong  temptation  to  disregard  their  al- 
tered circumstances ;  it  is  easier,  and  to  many  more  agree- 
able, to  supersede  the  will  than  to  train  it.  In  so  far  as 
this  proceeds  from  misapprehension,  however,  as  it  gener- 
ally does,  it  should  be  recollected  that  the  training  which 
accustoms  the  pupil  to  do  everything  at  the  word  of  com- 
mand, whilst  it  may  make  an  agreeable  pupil,  may  not  be 
the  training  which  goes  to  confer  on  him  the  inestimable 


THE  WILL.  93 

benefit  of  a  strong  character.  It  is  the  obedience  that  is 
free,  self-prompted,  which  we  must  aim  at  inculcating ;  and 
this  cannot  be  inculcated  if  we  give  the  child  no  room  for 
the  exercise  of  freedom.  When  he  begins  to  reason,  we 
must  give  him  reasons  for  what  we  require  to  be  done ; 
taking  care,  moreover,  that  we  give  him  truthful  and  valid 
reasons.!  When  he  comes  to  be  conscious  of  responsi- 
bility, we  must  let  him  take  responsibility — which  he  is 
quite  willing  to  do — provided  only  it  is  a  fair  responsibility 
to  lay  upon  him,  that  is,  provided  the  consequences  of  a 
mistake  will  not  be  detrimental  either  to  his  own  moral 
character  or  to  the  higher  interests  of  his  neighbors. 
Where  motives  already  in  his  possession  are  strong  enough 
to  stimulate  him  to  action,  we  should  keep  our  authority 
in  the  background  ;  it  has  a  bad  effect  to  be  always  ex- 
pressly commanding  what  would  be  freely  offered. 

wiiatthe  ^2-  Whilst  such  are  the  conditions  favorable 
do*to°de(veio  to  t*ie  growth  of  the  child's  freedom,  we  can 
Constancy  of  scarcely  pretend  in  this  the  first  period  of  edu- 
cation to  give  him  that  steadiness  of  character 
which  is  implied  in  constancy  of  will.  Such  a  character  is 
really  the  last  blessing  which  education  has  to  bestow;  it  is 
one  not  to  be  reached  till  trials  of  all  kinds  have  been  en- 
dured, till  the  mind  finds  rest  in  a  firm  and  well-founded 
faith,  till  it  has  power  to  reflect  attentively  on  purposes  de- 
liberately formed,  of  which  the  realization  lies  yet  in  the 
remote  future.  It  is  but  a  short  distance  that  the  child, 
with  his  extreme  volatility,  can  advance  to  this  goal,  yet  he 
may  imbibe  from  the  whole  of  his  school-training,  if  it  is 
judiciously  conducted,  an  impression  of  constancy  of  pur- 
pose ;  he  may  feel  himself  enveloped  by  a  power  of  which 
constant  steady  aim  is  the  mark  ;  and  thus  he  may  receive  a 
bent  in  this  direction  himself,  before  he  is  at  all  conscious 


94  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

of  the  nature  of  the  influence  at  work  upon  him.  To  illus- 
trate the  process  :  A  daily  round  of  work  is  exacted,  which 
must  be  discharged  in  a  uniform  way ;  it  returns  regularly 
at  its  appointed  time,  sometimes  more  difficult,  sometimes 
less  so,  but  it  must  be  done,  the  end  must  be  obtained  with- 
out fail.  A  certain  line  of  conduct  is  prescribed  to  him  ; 
on  the  one  hand,  there  are  positive  precepts  regarding  the 
manner  in  which  his  daily  work  is  to  be  performed,  to 
which,  though  resting  on  grounds  of  expediency,  he  must 
conform ;  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  duties  of  a  moral 
nature  of  a  higher  obligation,  which  he  sees  daily  practised 
by  others  and  undeviatingly  enforced  on  himself,  so  that  he 
may  calculate  distinctly  on  consequences,  according  to  the 
manner  in  which  he  discharges  them.  He  feels  that  there 
is  a  sphere  within  which  he  has  freedom,  and  another  with- 
in which  immediate  obedience  is  required ;  and  he  is  dis- 
tinctly conscious  of  the  boundary  line  between  them.  We 
shall  suppose,  too,  that  he  feels  the  temper  and  conduct  of 
the  teacher  to  be  even,  the  motives  he  encourages  to  be 
uniform,  and  the  sanctions  of  conduct  to  be  held  up  again 
and  again  with  the  same  earnestness ;  in  a  word,  that  the 
teacher  is  constantly  striving  after  the  same  end  as  con- 
cerns his  character.  He  has  an  example  of  constancy  be- 
fore him,  of  which  his  tendency  to  imitation  cannot  escape 
the  influence ;  and  he  feels  around  him  an  invisible  power 
drawing  him  steadily  forward  in  one  direction.  What  more 
can  school-life  do  to  give  him  constancy  of  character  ?  The 
means  at  work  are  sufficient  with  this  view,  were  he  suffi- 
ciently developed ;  if  he  does  not  acquire  fixity  of  charac- 
ter, it  is  because,  at  this  period,  he  is  not  capable  of  it. 
But  the  foundation  is  laid.  At  the  least,  a  habit  of  perse- 
verance, or  a  tendency  to  it,  is  formed,  which  is  an  aus- 
picious starting-point  for  the  will  when  it  comes  to  self- 
consciousness. 


THE   WILL.  95 

83.  This  suggests,  in  conclusion,  some  consid- 
Power  of  eration  of  habit,  in  relation  to  the  will.  Habits 
forming  the  to  a  considerable  extent  constitute  the  charac- 
Character.  ter  They  do  not  always  have  the  sanction  of 
the  will ;  but,  in  effect,  it  is  much  the  same  as 
if  they  had.  Many  examples  may  be  given  of  this.  It  is 
often  impossible,  we  know,  to  distinguish  acts  performed 
by  a  soldier  under  the  habit  of  military  discipline  from 
those  performed  by  him  with  conscious  will.  Again,  there 
are  many  who  are  scrupulously  punctual  and  orderly  from 
a  habit  deeply  stamped  on  them  by  some  accident  in  the 
circumstances  of  their  early  life.  The  formation  of  habits, 
then,  is  so  far  the  formation  of  the  character.  Habit,  it  is 
said,  is  a  second  nature,  that  is  to  say,  its  powers  may  be- 
come as  strong  as  that  of  the  instincts  with  which  we  are 
born.  There  is  but  this  difference  between  them,  that  we 
ourselves  commence  habits ;  and  this  is  the  ground  of  our 
hope  in  the  influence  of  education  to  elevate  the  character. 
The  teacher,  amongst  others,  should  bear  in  mind  the  use 
of  this  power  of  habit ;  he  should  view  all  the  acts  of  the 
child  in  the  light  of  it.  Things  often  seem  trifling  in  them- 
selves which  are  of  great  moment  when  viewed  in  this  rela- 
tion ;  for  what  we  do  once  we  are  apt  to  do  again,  and 
we  find  easier  to  do  again.  The  child  imitates  itself  even 
more  readily  than  it  imitates  others.  Thus  a  child  may 
throw  away  a  morsel  of  bread  which  it  does  not  need,  or 
it  may  allow  a  spot  to  remain  on  its  clothes  ;  these  acts, 
viewed  as  single  acts  may  seem  of  small  consequence, 
but  from  their  tendency  to  be  repeated,  they  are  impor- 
tant. We  can  never  estimate  the  effect  of  single  acts ; 
and  this  should  teach  us  to  permit  nothing  in  children 
of  the  propriety  of  which  we  have  the  smallest  doubt.* 
"  Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin."  And  not  only  in 
moulding  the  child  to  a  certain  line  of  conduct,  but  in 
withdrawing  him  from  a  wrong  one,  habit  is  the  only 


g6  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

power  available.  One  bad  habit  can  be  overthrown  only 
by  a  good  one  growing  up  as  a  counter-agent ;  which,  like 
its  predecessor,  must  be  formed  gradually.  We  must  not 
expect  to  accomplish  all  things  by  a  single  effort. 

84.  There  is  doubtless  one  danger  attending 

Danger  of     , 

dependence  habit.  It  may  degenerate  into  routine,  thus 
SabieVobe*  subverting  freedom.  But  with  respect  to  this 
iSfancyf  '"  danger  '*•  is  to  be  observed,  in  the  first  place, 
that  we  cannot  help  working  by  habit.  We 
must  encounter  bad  ones  if  we  do  not  form  good :  so  that 
it  is  not  left  to  ourselves  whether  we  shall  recognize  its 
power  or  not.  Secondly,  habit,  though  as  powerful  in  in- 
fancy as  it  is  afterwards,  is  at  this  early  stage  felt  by  the 
child  as  much  less  mechanical  in  its  nature  than  at  a  later 
period  ;  it  has  less  association  in  his  mind,  perhaps  we 
might  say  none,  with  routine.  His  natural  activity  is  so 
abundant,  that  acting,  even  though  it  be  a  repetition  of  the 
same  thing  again  and  again,  is  always  fresh  to  him.  So 
that,  in  truth,  during  this  first  period,  there  is  nothing  in 
habit  which  has  any  tendency  to  supersede  will.  It  is  at  a 
later  period  that  the  danger  of  this,  whatever  it  be,  must  be 
guarded  against.  We  may  see  the  transition  from  habit  to 
will  commencing  at  the  end  of  infancy ;  a  child  of  seven 
has  some  sense  of  responsibility — shows  the  germ  of  that 
grand  motive,  the  sense  of  duty — and  can  offer  to  us,  so  far, 
a  deliberate  instead  of  a  mechanical  obedience.  It  is  for 
the  teacher  carefully  to  foster  and  guide  this  transition  by 
a  rational  discipline.* 


PART   II. 

SUBJECTS   OF  INSTRUCTION  IN  THE  INFANT 
SCHOOL. 


CHAPTER   I. 

INTRODUCTION. — GENERAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE   INSTRUC- 
TION. 

Nature  of  85.  FROM  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  fore- 
ments  o^he  going  pages,  it  will  appear  that  physical  excr- 
infant  Schooi.cise  for  the  healthy  growth  and  relaxation  of 
the  body  ;  exercises  of  observation,  conception,  and  im- 
agination, for  the  mind  ;  and  moral  and  religious  lessons 
for  the  cultivation  of  the  heart,  are  the  principal  engage- 
ments of  infancy,  and,  therefore,  of  the  infant  school.  Un- 
der physical  exercise  we  include  the  right  regulation  of 
the  physical  circumstances  in  which  the  child  receives  his 
instruction,  which,  though  he  is  outwardly  passive  under 
them,  very  greatly  influence  the  tone  of  his  mind  and  feel-  . 
ings;  physical  exercises,  strictly  so  called,  requiring  posi- 
tive bodily  exertion,  such  as  he  is  subjected  to  in  the 
school ;  the  recreation  of  the  playground,  where,  in  full  ap- 
parent freedom,  he  is  yet  under  superintendence ;  and, 
lastly,  singing,  which  in  one  aspect  of  it  is  one  of  the  keen- 
est of  all  the  physical  incitements  to  the  general  work  of  the 
school.  Exercises  of  observation  and  conception  are  given 
7 


98  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

by  means  of  things  or  objects  such  as  the  eye  can  see,  the 
hand  handle,  and  the  ear  hear  ;  their  appearance  to  the  eye 
in  color,  form,  and  size ;  to  the  touch  in  weight,  hardness, 
and  other  qualities  ;  to  the  ear  in  sound.  As  a  distinct  ex- 
ercise of  observation  by  this  last  sense,  is  to  be  mentioned 
the  combination  of  musical  sounds  by  singing.  Exercises 
of  imagination  are  found  in  the  elementary  geographical 
lesson,  in  which  the  pupil  is  required  to  group  natural 
things,  such  as  he  has  already  observed,  variously  as  to 
place ;  and  in  reading  or  relating  stories  of  real  or  imagi- 
nary life.  Moral  and  religious  instruction  comprises  doc- 
trines or  points  for  belief  in  morality  and  religion  ;  feelings 
to  be  cherished,  and  actions  to  be  practised.  This  kind  of 
instruction  may  for  the  most  part  be  best  given  in  the  form 
of  incidental  reflections  throughout  the  daily  work,  and  ex- 
ercises of  devotion. 

mSSpfthe  86-  The  instruction  of  the  infant  school  is 
co'nversatuin-  carried  on  through  the  medium  of  familiar  con- 
ai.  versation  between  the  teacher  and  his  pupils. 

They  cannot  read  when  they  begin  their  course  ;  yet  they 
have  powers  which  are  eager  for  activity.  The  most  ad- 
vanced of  them,  though  they  may  be  able  to  read  very  easy 
narrative,  have  not  that  facility  that  enables  them  to  ex- 
tract information  from  what  they  read ;  and,  even  if  by  the 
teacher's  help  they  can  turn  this  to  account,  they  ought  to 
know,  and  they  are  able  to  know  much  more  than  this 
source  can  supply  them  with.  It  is  most  unnatural  to 
make  their  reading-power  the  measure  of  their  intellectual 
activity.  It  is  by  conversation  upon  actual  objects  and 
feelings  that  the  parent  first  calls  forth  the  glimmering  in- 
telligence of  the  child  ;  so  it  is  by  conversation,  or,  to  call 
it  by  its  technical  name,  oral  instruction,  that  the  teacher 
is  to  continue  the  process  which  the  parent  has  begun.  By 
this  method  alone  is  it  possible  to  give  the  child  a  stimulus 


INTRODUCTION.  99 

to  attention :  for  it  interposes  nothing  between  the  child 
and  the  living  voice  of  his  instructor  to  prevent  the  full 
play  of  that  mutual  sympathy  which  is  the  very  breath  of 
the  school  life.  By  this  method  alone  is  it  possible  to  give 
an  impulse  to  his  observation,  imagination,  curiosity ;  for  it 
submits  interesting  things  to  his  inspection,  while  it  humors 
his  volatility  by  turning  aside  to  notice  anything  that  at- 
tracts his  own  notice  by  the  way.  And  by  this  method 
alone  is  it  possible  to  engage  the  child  in  full  activity  with- 
out restraining  his  freedom  :  the  teacher  presents  to  him 
things  of  which  he  already  knows  something,  and,  speaking 
to  him  as  a  friend  and  companion  rather  than  as  a  preceptor, 
easily  draws  from  him  the  knowledge  he  is  so  willing  to 
show. 

87.  There  is  another  aspect  of  this  oral  in- 
Linguistic    struction   not  less  important ;    it  is  our  great 

aspect  of  such  & 

instruction,  means  for  giving  the  child  the  use  of  his 
mother-tongue.  When  the  time  comes  for  the 
parent  to  initiate  the  child  in  this,  she  does  not  make  "set" 
lessons  on  language  ;  she  speaks  to  him  of  things  and  feel- 
ings in  which  he  will  be  interested,  knowing  that  in  learning 
of  these  he  is  learning  to  speak.*  The  teacher  must  proceed 
in  the  same  way.  Language  is  nothing  apart  from  ideas  ; 
words  must  be  taught  to  the  infant  in  connection  with 
things.  This  aspect  of  oral  instruction  is  frequently  forgot- 
ten in  the  infant  school :  otherwise,  it  would  not  be  thrust 
into  the  subordinate  place  it  is  often  found  to  occupy.  In 
oral  instruction,  whatever  subjects  it  deals  with,  the  teacher 
should  remember  that  he  is  training  the  child  to  language. 
He  must  engage  each  one,  therefore,  in  conversation  ;  he 
must  vary  the  subjects  of  conversation,  as  each  subject  has 
a  vocabulary  particular  to  itself;  he  must  watch  attentively 
to  secure  a  gradual  increase  of  power  over  words,  content 
at  first,  perhaps,  with  their  utterance  of  single  words,  but 


100  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

looking,  by  and  by,  for  phrases,  and  then  easy  sentences. 
Nor  must  he  be  wearied  with  repetitions,  as  the  children 
are  just  beginning  their  exercises  in  language,  and  require 
long  and  varied  practice  to  learn  its  endless  variety  of 
forms.  Whilst  oral  instruction  is  the  rule  in  the  infant 
school,  it  is  pre-eminently  the  want  of  the  youngest  infants. 
The  teacher  may  observe  in  the  elder  pupils  some  diminu- 
tion of  interest  in  the  oral  lessons  ;  this  is  one  of  the  symp- 
toms that  the  time  has  come  for  advancing  them  from  the 
infant  school.  They  have  now  got  a  practical  command 
over  speech  which  serves  them  for  all  ordinary  purposes ; 
and  they  not  only  require,  but  feel  a  desire  for,  the  new  field 
of  exercise  which  book-instruction  gives.  But  the  younger 
children  have  no  such  command  of  language  ;  and  what 
they  want  most  is  such  a  knowledge  of  the  names  of  com- 
mon things  and  actions  as  shall  enable  them  to  characterize 
these  when  they  see  them,  and  to  hold  intercourse  with 
their  fellows  regarding  them.  Hence  their  acquisition  of 
language  goes  on  with  great  rapidity.  The  younger  the 
children,  therefore,  the  more  should  they  be  occupied  by 
oral  instruction. 

88.  What  are  we  to  say  of    book-learning, 
Danger  of    which  in  point  of  fact  occupies  a  place  in  all 

the  excessive  .    f  ,         ,     ^      rr,,  ,       .  t  , 

use  of  the  infant  schools?  The  power  to  read  with  mtel- 
reading-book.  ligence  is  the  greatest  benefit  which  school- 
education  bestows  upon  us  ;  for  this  enables  us 
to  educate  ourselves  in  after-life.  Not  unnaturally,  there- 
fore, the  reading-lesson  occupies  the  principal  place  in  the 
common  school.  It  does  not  follow  from  this,  however, 
that  it  should  hold,  as  it  is  commonly  made  to  hold,  the 
principal  place  in  the  infant  school ;  for  the  proper  study  of 
it  requires  certain  powers  which  the  child  in  the  first  period 
of  his  education  does  not  possess.  It  is  self-evident  that 
reading  is  an  effort  for  the  child,  whilst  conversation  is  not, 


INTRO  D  UCTION.  I O I 

Even  to  read  mechanically  is  so.  It  is  impossible  for  him 
to  fix  his  eye  upon  a  page,  and  to  thread  his  way  from  word 
to  word,  and  from  line  to  line,  in  their  close  succession, 
without  feeling  a  strain  upon  the  nerves  of  sight,  and 
through  them  upon  the  brain,  which  has  only  to  be  pro- 
longed to  do  him  serious  injury.  To  read  with  intelligence 
is  a  double  or  complex  effort.  It  includes  all  the  effort 
necessary  for  mechanical  reading,  and  in  addition  the  effort 
which  is  necessary  to  keep  the  mind  moving  at  the  same 
rate  as  the  eye.  The  mechanical  motion  tends  from  the 
first  to  outstrip  the  mental :  and  the  effort  to  keep  them 
together  is  the  most  painful  to  which  the  infant  can  be  sub- 
jected. The  brain  is  under  a  twofold  strain ;  that  from 
without  through  the  nerves  of  sight,  and  that  from  within 
proceeding  from  the  reflex  action  of  the  mind  upon  it. 
Well  has  it  been  said  that  "  it  is  not  so  much  the  actual 
process  of  learning  to  read  as  the  consequences  of  being 
able  to  read  during  early  years  that  are  to  be  guarded 
against."  From  physical  considerations,  then, — which  dic- 
tate the  fundamental  law  in  infant  education, — we  conclude 
that  it  is  imprudent  to  have  the  child's  attention  fixed  for 
any  considerable  portion  of  a  day  on  a  book.* 

89.  Systematic  reading  from  books  should  be 
Limitations  delayed  till  the  child  becomes  physically  capa- 
?enaddein^may  ble  of  a  little  conscious  effort,  which  it  does 
be  allowed.  abOut  four  and  a  half  or  five  years  of  age  ;  that 
is  to  say,  it  may  be  carried  on  during  the  last 
year  and  a  half  or  two  years  of  his  infant-school  attendance. 
There  would  be  no  harm  in  delaying  it  even  till  the  very 
end  of  this  period :  his  progress  would  be  all  the  more 
rapid  when  he  did  begin.  But  on  this  point  the  teacher 
may  defer  to  the  desires  of  parents,  provided  he  do  not 
urge  forward  the  child  too  much  with  the  reading-task,  by 
keeping  him  at  his  book  over  an  immoderate  proportion  of 


102  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

his  daily  time.  During  the  first  half  of  his  infant-school 
attendance,  the  child  should  be  prepared  for  learning  to 
read  rather  than  engaged  in  reading.  His  oral  instruction 
will  put  him  in  possession  of  a  large  number  of  words  with 
their  applications  ;  without  which  it  is  altogether  a  solecism 
to  engage  him  with  written  language.  It  can  also  make 
him  acquainted  with  the  forms  and  sounds  of  all  the  most 
familiar  words  of  the  language,  and  with  the  elements  of 
words,  in  connection  with  the  things  which  it  speaks  to 
him  about,  not  only  without  tasking  him,  but  by  way  of 
amusement. 

With  these  limitations  we  may  consent  to   reckon  the 
reading-lesson  as  one  of  the  occupations  of  the  infant  school. 

view  of  in-  90.  The  following  table  presents  at  one  view 
fant^schooi  the  different  parts  of  the  school-work  :  *— 

r.  Healthy  Condition  of  the  Schoolroom. 
2-  Physical  Exercises  in  School. 
3.   Recreation  in  Play-ground. 
4-  Singing. 

1.  Objects. 

2.  Number. 

3.  Color  and  Form. 
INTELLECTUAL  .   4.  Sound. 

5.  Geography. 

6.  Reading  and  Reciting  to  Pupils. 

7.  Reading  and  Spelling. 

i.  Doctrines  and  Points  for  Belief, 
MORAL  AND  )         J  2.  Duties. 
RELIGIOUS    )    '     j  3.  Incidental  Instruction. 
_  4.  Devotions. 


PHYSICAL  CIRCUMSTANCES  OF  INSTRUCTION.      103 

CHAPTER  II. 

PHYSICAL  CIRCUMSTANCES  OF   INSTRUCTION. 

91.  IT  is  the  first  and  constant  duty  of  the 
Duty  of  the  infant>school  teacher  to  attend   to  the  regula- 

Teacher  to  at-tion   of  physical   influences.     He   has  to  deal 

tend  to  these.       .   , 

with  a  large  number  of  children,  of  tender  age, 
of  different  temperaments  and  degrees  of  health, 
keenly  susceptible  of  external  influence  on  their  bodily 
frames,  and  liable  to  suffer  from  even  slight  irregularities. 
A  disregard  of  the  plainest  laws  of  health  in  the  school- 
room must,  in  the  end,  affect  the  health  of  the  children  ;  in 
the  meantime  it  prevents  them  deriving  any  benefit  from 
the  work  in  which  they  are  engaged.  For  his  own  sake, 
too,  the  teacher  must  be  mindful  of  these  laws.  If  he  is 
depressed  in  spirits,  not  to  say  enfeebled  in  health,  the 
whole  school  suffers.  One  day's  work  in  a  close  room  may 
not  affect  him  much  ;  but  no  constitution  can  resist  the 
effect  of  a  continuance  of  this  over  several  years.  It  is  in 
the  fact  that  such  influences  operate  almost  imperceptibly 
that  his  danger  lies.  Let  the  sanitary  state  of  his  school- 
room, then,  be  his  first  thought  when  he  enters  it  in  the 
morning ;  and  let  his  thoughts  recur  to  this  at  the  end  of 
every  lesson. 

92.  First   in  order  of  importance  is  ventila- 
Ventiiation.  tion.     The  school  must  have  a  steady  supply  of 

fresh  air  throughout  the  day.  The  symptoms 
which  indicate  neglect  of  this  are  very  plain.  Perhaps  the 
teacher  may  often  be  conscious  of  a  dimness  of  eyesight,  a 
giddiness  of  head,  a  general  languor  and  drowsiness  which 
nothing  can  shake  off  and  for  which  he  cannot  well  account ; 
it  is  probable  they  are  largely  owing  to  his  working  in  im- 
pure air.  Many  continue  even  to  bear  headaches,  sickness* 


104  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

or  sore  throat,  without  ever  suspecting  that  these  are  owing 
to  the  same  cause.  If  such  be  the  effect  on  the  teacher,  is 
it  to  be  supposed  that  the  children  will  escape?  Their 
countenances  and  the  tones  of  their  voice  are  some  index 
to  the  state  of  the  school.  And  if  the  teacher  will  scruti- 
nize these,  as  he  should  accustom  himself  to  do,  he  will  be 
kept  from  error  in  this  matter.  It  is  not  enough  that  the 
air  be  fresh  in  the  morning ;  or  that  the  windows  be  opened 
and  closed  fitfully  throughout  the  day,  just  as  accident  may 
direct  his  attention  to  the  subject,  or  that  there  be  one 
stereotyped  degree  of  ventilation  throughout  the  year :  this 
is  a  matter  that  requires  attention  from  hour  to  hour,  and 
from  day  to  day,  according  to  wind  and  weather.  An  at- 
mosphere which  is  fresh  in  the  morning  very  soon  becomes 
vitiated  unless  it  is  chan'ged,  and  the  teacher  may  not  be 
conscious  of  its  condition ;  he  cannot  do  better  than  go 
outside  occasionally  for  the  sake  of  comparison. 

Tempera-        93.  Another  important  feature  is  the  keeping 
ture.  Up  0£  a  proper  degree  of  temperature   in  the 

school-room.  Every  school  should  have  a  fire ;  and  the 
teacher  should  regulate  it  throughout  the  day.  Where  there 
is  neither  fire  npr  stove,  we  need  hardly  wonder  that  the 
windows  should  be  kept  close  to  obtain  warmth.  Both  ex- 
tremes of  temperature  must  be  avoided.  If  the  temperature 
be  kept  habitually  too  high,  the  children  will  become  nerv- 
ously sensitive  of  cold.  At  the  same  time  the  air  may  be 
fresh  and  yet  injuriously  cold.  Particularly  are  drafts  to  be 
avoided.  As  many  schools  are  constructed,  it  is  hardly  pos- 
sible to  avoid  these.  A  class  should  not  stand  immediately 
under  an  open  window  or  behind  a  door. 

94.  The  management  of  light  is  not  so  much  at- 
tended to  as  it  ought  to  be  in  schools.     A  dull, 
dingy  room,  in  which  the  eye  has  to  strain  itself  to  discern 
objects,  must   depress  the  elasticity  of  children.      On  the 


PHYSICAL  CIRCUMSTANCES  OF  INSTRUCTION.      105 

other  hand,  a  body  of  bright  light,  streaming  into  the  faces 
of  a  class,  cannot  but  produce  restlessness  and  inattention. 
If  the  windows  are  not  well  placed  for  the  distribution  of 
light,  the  teacher  may,  perhaps,  modify  their  effects  by  reg- 
ulating the  state  of  the  blinds.  An  infant  school  should  be 
a  light,  cheerful  place.*  A  stone-color  is  most  suitable  for 
the  walls. 

95.  Children  in  the  infant  school  are  not  ca- 
Length  andpable  of  much  tension,  either  mental  or  bodily 

ofd"ny  at-"    A  great  deal  of  inattention  is  often  attributed 
tendance.       to  wjifuj  trifling,  which  would   be  more  justly 
traced  to  the  teacher's  disregard  of  the  physical 
capacity  of  the  children. 

The  hours  of  school  attendance  should  not  be  long; 
never  exceeding  four  daily;  distributed  thus,  two  hours  in 
the  forenoon,  and  two  in  the  afternoon,  with  an  hour's  inter- 
val ;  or  better,  into  three  sittings  of  an  hour  and  twenty 
minutes  each,  with  two  intervals  of  three-quarters  each,  if 
the  circumstances  of  the  school  admit  of  it.  Whatever 
children  can  do  in  school,  they  will  accomplish  within  these 
hours  ;  to  prolong  their  attendance  to  five  or  six  hours, 
instead  of  aiding  their  progress,  will  only  injure  their 
health.  Parents  are  often  found  to  desire  this  longer  atten- 
dance; but  the  teacher  must  be  guided  neither  by  their 
ignorance  nor  their  selfishness,  but  by  his  own  conscious- 
ness of  what  is  right  in  this  matter;  for  it  is  he  alone  that 
would  have  to  bear  the  responsibility  in  the  event  of  any 
child  being  injured. 

96.  Every  morning  and  afternoon  should  be 
Shortness     occupied  by  various  lessons.     A  lesson  should 

and  variety  of  '. 

Lessons.         not  average  in  duration  more  than  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  and  on  no  account  exceed  twenty  min- 
utes,    ft  is  hard  enough  to  sustain  the  attention  even  for 


io6  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

this  period,  and  no  child  will  be  able  to  retain  more  than 
we  can  tell  him  within  it.  The  teacher  should  sub-divide 
his  lesson  rather  than  trespass  beyond  this  limit.  Lessons 
of  different  kinds,  i.e.,  occupying  different  senses,  should 
tollow  each  other;  this  is  a  great  relief.  It  is  absurd  to 
speak  of  these  frequent  changes  as  causing  loss  of  time. 

97.  Not    more    than    three-fourths  of    each 
Physical  re-  morning  and  afternoon  period  should  be  devot- 

Jaxation  in 

School.  ed  to  instruction  which  involves  mental  occu- 

pation. It  is  necessary  to  have  short  intervals 
between  the  lessons  for  physical  relaxation ;  which  is  given 
either  by  a  general  change  of  position  in  the  classes 
thoughout  the  school,  accompanied  with  marching,  or  by 
special  bodily  movements.  Further,  it  may  sometimes 
be  necessary  during  the  lesson  to  recall  the  wandering 
thoughts  of  one  or  of  all  by  such  movements  for  a  few  sec- 
onds ;  the  teacher  may  easily  read  in  the  countenances  of 
the  children  when  such  a  stimulus  will  be  beneficial.  Too 
much  either  of  sitting  or  of  standing  is  objectionable ;  they 
must  alternate.  Variety  in  every  species  of  activity  is  the 
rule  of  the  infant  school. 

98.  There  is  an  endless  choice  in  the  selection 
Exercises!      °f  physical  exercises  ;  body,  legs,  arms,  and  fin- 
gers may  all  be  called  into  requisition.     Bend- 
ing of  the  body,  a  sudden  passing  from  a  sitting  to  a  stand- 
ing posture  and  vice  versa,  easy  gymnastic  movements  of 
the  arms,  beating  time  with  the  feet,  action  amongst  the  ' 
different  fingers,  and  imitation  of  the  trades,  are  the  most 
common.      The  secret  of  success  in  these  is  alertness  in 
calling  for  them  and  in  varying  them  rapidly  and  decidedly. 
They  should  be  performed  by  the  children,  partly  at  word 
of  command,  but  chiefly  in  silence,  by  imitation,  with  eyes 
fixed  on  the  example  of  the  teacher.*     Free  and  confident 


PHYSICAL   CIRCUMSTANCES  OF  INSTRUCTION.       lOf 

motion  is  indispensable  in  the  teacher  whilst  giving  them  ; 
they  will  fail  unless  the  children  see  and  feel  the  influence  of 
this.  Smartness  in  giving  these  exercises  is  not  the  least 
of  the  accomplishments  of  the  infant-school  teacher;  it 
turns  into  an  aid  to  discipline  that  disinclination  to  remain 
still  which  would  otherwise  disturb  him.  The  only  limita- 
tion to  them  is  that  they  should  not  be  ungraceful  in  them- 
selves, or  unduly  noisy,  or  tend  to  produce  any  kind  of 
discomfort  in  the  class-room.  Those  are  particularly  suita- 
ble which  from  the  rhythm  of  their  motion  admit  of  being 
accompanied  by  singing ;  of  which  marching  is  the  most 
prominent. 

99.  We  shall  do  no  more  than  simply  notice 
Recreation  here  the  exercises  of  the  play-ground,  as  the 
ground."  provisions  for  these  will  require  us  to  speak  of 
them  more  minutely  afterwards.  The  propor- 
tion of  play  to  work  must  in  the  case  of  infants  be  very 
large.  The  usual  daily  hour  of  interval  is  not  enough  for 
the  purposes  of  training ;  but  circumstances  often  make  it 
impracticable  to  give  more.  As  already  indicated,  the 
work  should  be  twice  broken  by  recreation ;  a  third  oppor- 
tunity may  be  had  before  the  children  enter  school  in  the 
morning.  They  should  return  home  immediately,  however, 
after  the  last  school  hour.  As  the  play-hour  serves  both  to 
give  recreation  to  the  children  and  to  afford  room  for  the 
exhibition  of  their  dispositions  in  actions  towards  each 
other,  it  should  be  given  under  superintendence.*  Such  a 
watchfulness  would  serve  no  good  purpose  with  advanced 
pupils,  but  the  reverse  ;  young  children,  however,  do  not 
feel  it  to  be  any  restraint  on  them. 


100.  Finally,  singing  is  a  physical  exercise  of 

wonderful  power  in  relieving  the  more  serious 

work  of  the  school.     All  must  observe  its  calming  influence 


lo8  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

after  exertion,  and  its  cheering  preparative  influence  on  ex- 
ertion yet  to  be  undergone.  It  is  like  the  ventilation  of  the 
mind  ;  giving  an  outlet  for  the  oppressed  and  pent-up  feel- 
ings of  the  child,  the  hearty  utterance  of  which  is  at  all 
times  refreshing.  The  younger  children  are,  the  more  and 
the  more  frequent  the  necessity  for  the  relaxation  thus  af- 
forded ;  there  can  be  no  successful  management  of  the 
infant  school  without  it.  We  shall  afterwards  have  to  no- 
tice its  value  as  a  branch  of  instruction  :  what  we  insist  on 
at  present  is  its  value  as  an  instrument  in  a  skilful  hand  for 
keeping  alive  the  tone  and  activity  of  the  school. 


CHAPTER   III. 

INTELLECTUAL    INSTRUCTION. 

1.  The  Object-Lesson. 

101.  THE  principles  need  not  be  again  stated 
betweVn'the  which  demonstrate  the  object-lesson  to  be  so 
iSdatheSiCehssSnimPortant  a  Part  of  th"e  infant-school  work ; 
on  "common  but  the  student  should  refer  to  §§  26,  29,  37,  86, 

things"  so 

called.  in  connection  with  the  present   chapter.      All 

that  it  seems  necessary  to  premise  here  is  that 
we  are  not  to  confound,  as  is  very  often  done,  the  object- 
lesson  of  the  infant  school  with  the  lesson  on  "  common 
things,"  as  that  phrase  is  now  understood  (see  note  on  §  29). 
The  latter,  strictly  speaking,  is  not  designed  for  the  infant 
school  at  all ;  the  purpose  of  it  is  to  give  a  certain  amount 
of  practical  information  about  the  things  and  processes  of 
every-day  life  to  children  sufficiently  advanced  to  turn  it  to 
account.  The  object-lesson  of  the  infant  school  has  quite 
a  different  purpose.  Its  predominant  aspect  is  the  mental 
exercise  it  gives  ;  it  is  meant  to  awaken  the  intelligence,  and 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  109 

to  cultivate  its  different  phases  of  observation,  conception, 
and  taste,  without  which  little  satisfactory  progress  can  be 
made  in  their  future  education.  It  is  a  disciplining,  not  a 
utilitarian,  process ;  the  information  it  gives  is  a  means,  not 
an  end. 

103.  The  range  of  this  department  of  instruc- 
Range  of      tion   is   exceedingly  comprehensive.     It   draws 

the  Object- 

lesson.  its  materials  from  all  the  branches  of   knowl- 

edge dealing  with  things  which  can  interest  the 
child  or  exercise  his  mind.  Thus,  it  is  Natural  History  for 
children ;  for  it  directs  their  attention  to  animals  of  all 
classes,  domestic  and  others,  their  qualities,  habits,  and 
uses — to  trees,  and  plants,  and  flowers — to  the  metals,  and 
other  minerals,  which,  from  their  properties,  are  in  con- 
stant use.  It  is  Physical  Science  for  children  ;  for  it  leads 
them  to  observe  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens,  sun,  moon, 
and  stars,  the  seasons,  with  the  light  and  heat  which  mark 
the  changes  of  the  weather,  and  the  properties  of  the  bod- 
ies which  form  the  mass  of  matter  around  us.  It  is  Do- 
mestic Economy  for  children  ;  for  it  exhibits  to  them  the 
things  and  processes  daily  used  in  their  homes,  and  the 
way  to  use  them  rightly.  It  is  Industrial  and  Social  Econ- 
omy for  children  ;  for  it  describes  the  various  trades,  pro- 
cesses in  different  walks  of  art,  and  the  arrangements  as  to 
the  division  of  labor  which  society  has  sanctioned  for  carry- 
ing these  on  in  harmony  and  mutual  dependence.  It  is 
Physiology  for  children ;  for  it  tells  them  of  their  own 
bodies,  and  the  uses  of  the  various  members  for  physical 
and  mental  ends,  with  the  way  to  use  them  best  and  to 
avoid  their  abuse.  It  is  the  "  science  of  common  things" 
for  children  ;  for  it  disregards  nothing  which  can  come 
under  their  notice  in  their  intercourse  with  their  fellows  or 
their  superiors.  And,  finally,  as  we  shall  afterwards  see 
more  distinctly,  it  is  Geography  for  children ;  since  it  has 


1 1 0  EARL  Y  ED  UCA  TION. 

favorite  subjects  of  illustration  in  mountain  and  river, 
forest,  plain,  and  desert,  the  different  climates  of  the  earth, 
with  their  productions  and  the  habits  of  their  peoples,  the 
populous  city,  and  the  scattered  wigwams  of  the  savage. 

103.  All  the  things  fit  to  be  treated  of  in  the 
th^phra"! °f  object-lesson  may  be  said  to  be  "familiar 
"familiar or  things;"  at  the  same  time,  the  phrase  must  not 

common 

things."  be  too  narrowly  interpreted.  We  cannot  con- 
sent to  confine  our  instruction  to  things  which 
the  child  has  the  opportunity  of  actually  seeing.  By  fa- 
miliar things  we  are  to  understand  all  those  things  on 
which  he  can  exercise  his  mind  in  the  way  which  is  familiar 
to  it.  For  example,  amongst  animals,  the  lion,  the  camel, 
the  elephant,  and  the  rein-deer  afford  scope  for  reasoning 
of  as  familiar  a  kind  as  the  horse,  the  sheep,  or  the  dog.  In 
the  vegetable  world,  similar  remarks  may  be  made  on  the 
tea-plant,  the  sugar-cane,  and  the  cotton-plant  relatively  to 
the  potato,  the  turnip,  and  flax — upon  rice  and  maize  rela- 
tively to  barley  and  wheat — on  the  palm-tree  and  the  cedar 
relatively  to  the  fir  and  the  oak.  All  the  child's  observa- 
tion of  things  at  home,  of  the  materials  for  food,  clothing, 
building,  or  industry,  prepares  him  for  observing  the  cor- 
responding things  in  other  lands,  and  is  in  turn  greatly  en- 
lightened by  this  extended  observation.  Of  course,  things 
around  him  claim  his  first  regard ;  that  is  not,  however,  be- 
cause the  reasoning  about  them  is  easier,  but  because  the 
observation  of  them  is  more  palpable  and  definite,  and  it  is 
observation  that  is  to  be  first  exercised.  As  soon  as  he'can 
reason  at  all,  his  imagination  must  be  sent  abroad.  There 
is  no  force  in  the  argument  sometimes  employed  that  his 
attention  should  be  confined  solely  or  chiefly  to  things 
about  him  on  the  ground  that  he  may  not  be  long  at  school, 
or  that  his  future  occupation  may  throw  him  into  the  midst 
of  these.  The  mental  exercise  of  the  infant  school  must  be 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  Ill 

held   to  be  independent  of  such   considerations   of  time, 
place,  or  professional  prospects. 

104.  The  features  common  to  all  infant-school 
se^vatio1n0and  teaching  will   be  noticed   further  on  ;  so  that, 
inspection  of  w|th  regard  to  the  method  of  the  object-lesson, 

objects  neces- 
sary, it  need  be  only  here  stated  that,  as  it  has  in 

view  the  cultivation  of  the  conception  and  the 
higher  faculty  of  relation,  so  both  of  these  faculties  must 
be  exercised  in  their  proper  time  and  degree.  The  former 
cannot  be  furnished  and  stimulated,  unless  the  object  be 
actually  subjected  to  the  observation  of  the  class,  and  that 
not  to  one  sense  only,  but  to  all  that  are  available.  It  is 
not  enough,  for  instance,  that  in  a  lesson  on  "  glass,"  the 
teacher  should  simply  hold  it  up  before  the  class,  and  on 
the  strength  of  his  own  observation  proceed  to  state  its 
properties.  It  is  their  sight,  and  touch,  and  hearing  that 
are  to  be  exercised ;  so  that  he  should  first  show  it,  then 
put  it  into  the  hands  of  the  children  to  feel  it,  and  then 
ring  it  on  the  table.  This  is  often  neglected,  just  because 
it  seems  needless  ;  thus  it  may  seem  enough  if  the  teacher 
squeeze  a  sponge  to  show  that  it  is  soft  and  elastic,  or  if  he 
handle  lead  to  show  that  it  is  heavy.  But  this  is  only  an 
exercise  of  sight  to  the  class  ;  tactual  as  well  as  ocular  in- 
spection by  some,  if  not  by  all,  must  be  allowed.  How  far 
the  reasoning  of  a  child  may  be  carried,  and  in  what  way  it 
is  to  be  exercised,  has  been  indicated  already  (see  §§  39-49). 

105.  One  great  use  of  the  object-lesson  is  to 
.nThe  describ-cuitivate  the   conceptive  faculty  in  connection 
ing  of  the       with  language ;  for  which  purpose  it  should,  from 
things"  °       first  to  last,  present  much  of  the  descriptive 

part  of  our  vocabulary  (§  87),  dealing  first  with 
those  terms  that  denote  qualities  broadly  recognizable,  be- 
fore descending  to  the  finer  shades.  The  describing  and 


1 1 2  EARL  Y  ED  UCA  TION. 

the  naming  the  qualities  of  things  is  thus  quite  a  legitimate 
resource  in  these  lessons ;  still,  as  bodies  possess  the  same 
qualities  frequently  in  common,  there  is  great  danger  of  the 
object-lesson  falling  into  a  barren  monotony  of  plan.  To 
remedy  this,  the  teacher  will  observe,  (i.)  that  the  universal 
qualities  of  bodies,  or  those  which  are  nearly  so,  such  as 
useful,  opaque,  inanimate,  need  be  very  seldom  mentioned ; 
(2.)  that  when  qualities  are  given,  there  should  be  a  real 
exercise  of  observation  given  with  the  name  (§  104)  ;  and, 
(3.)  that  the  mentioning  of  these  qualities  should  not,  in 
the  general  case,  constitute  the  whole  of  the  lesson,  but 
that  other  facts  should  be  communicated,  which  are  inter- 
esting to  be  known,  and  which  exercise  the  imagination, 
the  sense  of  beauty,  and  the  moral  feelings.  This  will  pre- 
vent the  verbal  aspect  of  the  lesson  from  obtaining  too 
great  predominance  over  the  real. 

106.  A  very  common,  though  little  noticed, 
Different      practical  error  in  the  giving  of  object-lessons, 

stages  in  the    f 

Object-lesson. is  the  neglect  to  distinguish  the  different  stages 
in  the  advancement  of  the  children  to  whom 
they  are  given.  An  infant  of  four  years  is  a  very  different 
being,  intellectually,  from  one  of  six  or  seven  ;  and  can  only 
to  a  very  small  extent  follow  a  lesson  addressed  to  him. 
Even  in  dealing  with  things  we  shall  not  secure  the  child's 
attention,  unless  we  select  things  which  interest  him,  and 
unless  we  address  him  in  a  suitable  way.  Perhaps  we  may 
distinguish  three  stages  of  the  object-lesson.  In  the  first, 
the  pupil  is  required  to  distinguish  objects  by  their  names, 
to  notice  their  parts,  their  color,  and,  a  little  later,  their 
simpler  properties,  such  as  form  and  size;  in  the  second, 
the  lesson  should  deal  chiefly  with  qualities  and  uses  of 
things ;  and  in  the  third,  with  a  more  formal  statement  of 
the  various  relations  in  which  things  stand  to  each  othert 
resemblance,  causality,  etc.  These  three  stages  may  corre- 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  113 

spond  approximately  to  the  first  year  of  attendance  at  the 
school,  the  second  year,  and  the  third  year  or  part  of  year. 


Subjects 
suitable  for 
the  first 
stages. 


107.  The  following  list  exhibits  a  variety  of 
subjects  suitable  for  the  first  stage  : — 


I.  —  NATURAL 

HISTORY. 

Sheep. 

Bear. 

Bee. 

A  Tree. 

Cat. 

Wolf. 

Ant. 

Rose. 

Dog. 

Fox. 

Spider. 

Lily. 

Horse. 

Hen. 

Butterfly. 

Daisy. 

Cow. 

Goose. 

Herring. 

Dandelion. 

Donkey. 

Duck. 

Haddock. 

Potato. 

Goat. 

Swan. 

Crab. 

Turnip. 

Rabbit. 

Crow. 

Whale. 

Carrot. 

Hare. 

Sparrow. 

Worm. 

Cabbage. 

Pig. 

Swallow. 

Adder. 

Grass. 

Deer. 

Robin. 

Snake. 

Leaves. 

Mouse. 

Pigeon. 

Mussel. 

Apple. 

Lion. 

Parrot. 

Whelk. 

Pear. 

Elephant. 

Pheasant. 

Oyster. 

Cherry. 

Camel. 

Common  Fly. 

Snail. 

Berries. 

II. — DOMESTIC   ECONOMY. 


Different  kinds  of  Houses. 

Articles  for  Breakfast  and  Tea. 

"        parts  of  a  House. 

"          Dinner. 

"        kinds  of  Roofs. 

Things  for  washing  with. 

Things  used  in  Kitchen. 

Parts  of  our  Clothes. 

"           "        Parlor. 

Vessels  for  holding  things. 

"           "        Bedroom. 

A  Fire. 

Things  for  sitting  on. 

Utensils  for  Fire. 

"         lying  on. 

Making  of  Tea. 

"         eating  with. 

Coffee. 

"        drinking  with. 

Porridge. 

Breakfast-Table. 

Bread. 

Dinner-Table. 

Candle. 

Tea-Table. 

A  Bed. 

1 1 4  EARL  Y  ED  UCA  TION. 

III. — PHYSIOLOGY. 
The  Body.  The  Eyes.  Hearing.  Swimming. 


Arms. 

Mouth. 

Seeing. 

Standing. 

Hands. 

Nose. 

Feeling. 

Breathing. 

Fingers. 

Ears. 

Smelling. 

Sleeping. 

Legs. 

Throat. 

Tasting. 

Dreaming, 

Feet. 

Skin. 

Running. 

Singing. 

Toes. 

Bones. 

Leaping. 

Dancing. 

Head. 

Blood. 

Walking. 

Drinking. 

Face.                       Voice.  Hopping.                Eating. 

IV. — INDUSTRIAL  AND    SOCIAL   ECONOMY. 

Things  for  writing  with.  The  Railway. 

"           sewing  with.  What  their  parents  do  in  a  day. 

The  Cabinetmaker's  Shop.  "           brothers         " 

Baker's  sisters 

Grocer's  What  they  themselves      " 

Butcher's  Materials  for  Clothing. 

Shoemaker's           "  Leather. 

Tailor's  Materials  for  Building. 

Painter's                 "  "           Furniture. 

Fruiterer's              "  Making  Stockings. 

Smith's                    "  The  School. 

The  Farm.  Work  of  the  School. 

Garden.  The  Family  Circle. 

Ship.  One's  Relations. 

Sailor.  Things  of  Stone. 

Letter-Carrier.  "        Iron. 

Soldier.  "        Tin. 

V. — COMMON  THINGS. 

Cart.                           Clock.  Gas-light.                Nails. 


Table. 

Watch. 

Drawers. 

Thread. 

Chair. 
Stool. 

Picture. 
Window. 

Slate. 
Ink. 

Rope. 
Pen. 

Coach. 
Railway  Carriage. 
A  Letter. 

Book. 
Scales. 
Bottle. 

Pins. 

Needles. 
Scissors. 

Quill. 
Shilling. 
Egg. 

Money.  Black-board.         Thimble.  Pen-knife. 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  115 

VI. — PHYSICAL   APPEARANCES. 

Aspects  of  Sky.        Aspects  of  Water.       Aspects  of  Winter. 

"         Sun.  "  Vapor.  "  Thunder  and 

"         Moon.  "  Ice.  Lightning. 

"        Stars.  "  Heat.  "  Rainbow. 

Rain.  "  Cold.  "  Day. 

"         Snow.  "  Spring.  "  Night. 

"        Clouds.  "  Summer.  "  a  Storm. 

"        Wind.  "  Autumn.  "  a  Calm. 

Supposing  an  object-lesson  to  be  given  daily,  the  list  of 
subjects  now  presented,  making  allowance  for  the  geogra- 
phy object-lessons  which  are  not  here  included,  is  large 
enough  for  a  year's  work ;  and  it  may  readily  be  increased. 

Subjects  108.  For  the  second  stage  or  year,  many  of 
the^secomT  l^e  f°regomg  subjects  might  be  repeated,  and 
information  given  on  a  larger  scale ;  whilst  a 
further  selection  of  common  objects  should  be  made  to  ex- 
emplify the  qualities  of  bodies  and  put  the  pupils  in  posses- 
sion of  descriptive  terms.  The  following  list  is  sufficient  to 
exemplify  all  the  more  familiar  qualities;  it  may  be  en- 
larged or  varied  at  the  teacher's  discretion  : — 


Cork. 

Salt. 

Paste. 

Silk. 

Leather. 

Whalebone. 

Slate. 

Barley. 

India-Rubber. 

Sand. 

Coal. 

Rice. 

Sponge. 

Bread. 

Soap. 

Pepper. 

Glass. 

Lead. 

Horse-hair. 

Ginger. 

Iron. 

Copper. 

Feathers. 

Rose. 

Wood. 

Gold. 

Clay. 

Hawthorn. 

Water. 

Tin. 

Oil. 

Tea. 

Paper. 

Mercury. 

Vinegar. 

Coffee. 

Common  Sugar. 

Honey. 

Chalk. 

Milk. 

Loaf-Sugar. 

Gum  Arabic. 

Earthenware. 

Balloon. 

Wool. 

Starch. 

Putty. 

Air-bubble. 

Sealing-Wax. 

Glue. 

Wire. 

Bladder. 

1 1 6  EARL  Y  ED  UCA  TION. 

After  some  practice  in  the  observation  of  qualities  inher- 
ent in  particular  objects,  the  idea  of  the  quality  in  the 
abstract  will  gradually  form  itself,  and  the  ground  may  be 
gone  over  again  in  reverse  order.  Thus  a  quality  may  be 
selected,  e.g.,  heavy,  hard,  smooth,  brittle,  elastic,  tough, 
liquid,  viscid,  fibrous,  pliable,  fusible,  porous,  inflammable, 
or  the  like,  and  various  objects  which  have  the  quality 
brought  together,  and  the  uses  to  which  they  are  put  in 
virtue  of  the  quality  slightly  noticed.  (§§  29,  30.) 

Subjects  10^'  In  the  third  sta£e> tne  Pupi!  is  required 
suitable  for  to  trace  relations  more,  particularly  of  resem- 
blance and  of  connection  by  way  of  cause  and 
effect.  Such  relations  have  not  been  altogether  unnoticed 
in  the  middle  series  of  lessons,  but  the  teacher  has  greater 
latitude  now.  Most  of  the  subjects  of  the  second  year  are 
quite  serviceable  still;  for  there  are  many  points  connected 
with  the  form  and  utility  of  these  which  the  pupil  has  not 
yet  been  able  to  comprehend.  Bearing  in  mind  that  it  is 
more  in  the  tracing  of  incidental  connections  that  the  sense 
of  relation  is  cultivated  at  this  period  than  by  the  antithetic 
statements  of  the  explicit  comparison  (§  43),  the  following 
list  presents  subjects  in  the  latter  exercise  for  which  the 
pupils  may  be  deemed  quite  competent : — 

Dog  and  Cat.  Hoof  of  Horse  and  of  Camel. 

Dog  and  Wolf.  Whale  and  Fish. 

Dog  and  Fox.  Thumb  and  Forefinger. 

Newfoundland  Dog  and  Bird  and  Quadruped. 

Shepherd's  Dog.  Animal  and  Plant. 

Cat  and  Tiger.  Plant  and  Mineral. 

Rabbit  and  Hare.  Tree  and  Shrub. 

Bee  and  Wasp.  Common  Shrubs. 
Snail  and  Whelk.  "        Flowers. 

Duck  and  Goose.  "         Wild  Flowers. 

Swallow  and  Sparrow.  "        Trees. 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  117 

Coverings  of  Birds.            Common  Shells. 

Wool  and  Hair.  "  Esculents. 

Nails  and  Claws.                 Different  states  of  Weather. 

Needle  and  Pin.  "  kinds  of  Clouds. 

Pen  and  Pencil.  "  "         Fuel. 

Steel-pen  and  Quill.  "  "        Bread. 

Knife  and  Penknife.  "  "         Soap. 

Cart  and  Wheelbarrow.  "  "         Sugar. 

Shilling  and  Penny.  "  "         Coal. 

Cotton  and  Wool.  "  "        Glass. 

Clock  and  Watch.  "  "        Nails. 

Grate  and  Stove.  "  "        Stockings. 

Snow,  Hail,  and  Ice.  "  "        Lamps  and  Lights. 

Hand  and  Foot.  "  "        Gloves. 

The  Teeth.  "  "        Locks  and  Keys. 

110.  The  following  are  examples  in  outline  of 
L«so™sPfor°f  the  different  kinds  of  lessons  suitable  for  the 
the  First        younger  infants, — the  successive  points  for  illus- 
tration being  indicated  in  italics : — 

I. — THE   SHEEP. 

Subject  of  lesson  familiarly  introduced — animal  you  often 
see  passing  you  on  streets,  a  great  many  going  together, 
what  can  it  be  ?  The  sheep.  Where  going  to  ?  the  market, 
to  be  killed— poor  sheep— -flock  explained — the  shepherd  in 
charge — the  dogs. 

Where  did  they  come  from  ?  the  fields — in  the  country — 
where  the  grass  grows — the  green  grass — which  the  sheep 
eat.  Did  you  ever  see  them  in  a  field  ?  What  doing  ? 
walking  about — lying  down,  sometimes  at  the  wall,  some- 
times under  bush — eating. 

Were  you  ever  near  one  ?  how  afraid  it  is — how  big  is  it  ? 
bigger  than  the  cat?  its  color  white,  sometimes  black.  How 
it  feels  when  you  touch  or  handle  it — soft  all  over,  from  the 
wool  on  its  back.  How  many  legs  ?  What  they  are  like, 


1 1 8  EARL  Y  ED  UCA  TION. 

and  its  little  feet  ?  marks  left  by  a  flock  on  the  street  or 
road.  Its  face,  ears,  etc.,  sometimes  horns;  and  with  the 
horns  they  sometimes  box — (if  the  season  be  spring  the 
lambs  should  be  noticed). 

The  sheep  is  very  gentle  and  timid,  and  hurts  no  one — 
little  children  sometimes  throw  stones  at  it,  which  is  very 
wrong — they  should  be  kind  to  it. 

II. — A   BED. 

Willie— was  sleeping  a  short  time  ago ;  what  made  him  do 
so  ?  he  was  tired.  Should  we  let  him  sleep  long  ? 

The  use  of  sleep — how  every  one,  their  fathers  and  mothers, 
brothers,  sisters,  etc.,  need  it.  What  makes  us  sleep? — 
the  time  for  it  ? 

What  we  sleep  in  ?  a  bed — put  off  our  clothes,  for  we  are 
to  sleep  //'//  morning — what  is  in  the  bed?  blankets  for 
warmth,  sheets  to  be  nice  and  clean — coverlet,  perhaps  white 
or  blue — the  mattress  thick  and  soft  below. 

We  should  be  thankful  to  have  comfortable  beds  to  go  to 
at  night — some  have  not — God  gives  us  this  and  all  good 
things — what  should  we  do  when  we  go  to  bed  ?  Ask  God  to 
take  care  of  us  through  the  night — and  when  we  rise  ? 

III. — THE  MOUTH. 

Refer  to  previous  lessons  (perhaps)  on  face,  eyes,  nose, 
etc.  What  more  to  be  seen  on  the  face — look  at  your 
neighbors'  faces — mouth. 

Open  your  mouth,  shut  them,  point  to  them — different 
things  the  mouth  is  for — eating  when  we  are  hungry,  drink- 
ing when  thirsty,  singing  when  merry,  yawning  when  sleepy, 
speaking  when  we  have  anything  to  say,  etc. 

Many  things  in  mouth — tongue,  which  is  soft — move  them 
— little  children  sometimes  put  out  their  tongues,  which  is 
naughty — the  teeth  for  chewing,  e.g.,  bread,  flesh,  etc., — many 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  119 

of  them  small  &n&  white,  and  sometimes  they  come  out — and 
for  shutting  the  mouth  we  have  lips. 

We  should  take  care  what  we  put  into  our  mouths — little 
children  sometimes  hurt  themselves  by  putting  strange  things 
into  their  mouths — they  should  ask  their  mothers  or  their 
teacher  first. 

iv. — THE  BAKER'S  SHOP. 

What  do  children  bring  to  school  with  them  ?  their  books, 
playthings,  but  also  their  "piece"  (lunch) — what  they  bring 
it  for  ?  to  eat — when  do  we  eat  ?  different  things  we  eat, 
bread,  flesh,  etc. 

I  have  a  piece  of  (wheaten)  bread  in  my  hand — its  color? 
hard  or  soft  ?  Where  it  comes  from  ?  the  baker's  shop — 
What  does  the  baker  do?  does  he  give  it  for  nothing?  what 
does  he  give  it  for — you  often  buy  for  yourselves  and  your 
parents. 

What  have  you  seen  in  a  baker's  shop?  different  things 
named,  with  their  color,  and  form,  and  degree  of  hardness. 

How  should  we  do  without  the  baker,  who  makes  so  many 
nice  things  ? 

Yesterday  I  saw  some  crumbs  on  the  floor,  and  a  small 
piece  of  bread — notice  how  easily  broken  it  is,  and  how  very 
careful  we  should  be  with  it  not  to  waste  it. 

Conclude  with  the  anecdote  of  the  dog  that  went  to  the 
baker's  shop  every  day,  with  the  half-penny,  and  brought 
back  the  roll ;  or  with  the  verses  on  "  The  Crust  of  Bread  " 
(Appendix  B). 

V. — THE  CART. 

Tell  me  all  the  things  you  met  in  coming  to  school  this 
morning — things  named  till  they  come  to  cart — the  man 
that  drove  it,  and  the  horse  or  donkey  that  pulled  it. 

Its  parts — wheels  and  spokes — then  the  shafts  for  the  horse 
to  go  in — the  cart  itself,  its  bottom  and  sides,  and  back. 
Draw  or  show  model  of  cart  or  its  parts. 


i2o  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

What  did  you  see  in  the  cart  ?  coals — get  a  number  of  dif- 
ferent things  named  that  they  may  have  seen  in  carts — 
have  you  ever  been  carried  in  a  cart  ?  And  when  the  cart 
is  heavily  laden  it  has  two  horses,  and  the  other  pulls  by  a 
chain. 

What  could  we  do  without  the  cart?  Little  children 
sometimes  get  into  their  way  in  the  street  or  road ;  which 
is  wrong,  for  they  may  be  hurt.  So  when  we  see  a  cart  com- 
ing, we  must  quickly  get  out  of  its  way. 


What  kind  of  day  is  this,  children  ?  day  described,  sunny, 
clear,  warm,  perhaps.  Is  it  always  so  ?  What  other  kind  of 
days  have  we  ?  they  are  named  till  rain  is  mentioned.  What 
was  the  last  rainy  day  ? 

Where  does  the  rain  come  from  ?  what  does  it  do  ?  wets 
everything,  streets,  houses,  etc. 

You  cannot  play  on  rainy  days — perhaps  you  wish  there 
were  none — but  they  are  needed  to  make  things  grow,  trees, 
and  grass  and  flowers,  etc. — did  you  ever  notice  how  fresh 
and  green  all  things  look  after  a  shower  ? 

If  you  go  out  on  rainy  day  what  happens  to  you  ?  your 
clothes  are  wet  and  spoiled,  perhaps— children  sometimes 
go  out  in  rain,  which  they  should  not  do. 

Who  sends  us  both  rain  and  sunshine  ? — Verses  on  the 
Rain. 

111.  The  following  are  outlines  of  more  ad- 
Examples    vanced  lessons,  such  as  might  be  given  at  the 

for  the  Second 

stage.  second  stage ;  the  first  on  a  very  familiar  ani- 

mal, in  which  the  information  is  given  on  a 
larger  scale  than  it  would  be  to  the  youngest  classes,  the 
second  on  an  object,  with  a  special  view  to  illustrate  the 
qualities  of  it,  and  the  third  on  a  quality. 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  121 

I. — THE   ELEPHANT. 

The  general  size  of  the  animal  should  be  first  noticed; 
its  height  and  bulk  make  it  the  largest  of  quadrupeds  ;  com- 
pare it  in  height  with  a  man,  and  in  bulk  with  the  largest 
animal  known  among  us,  the  horse. 

What  kind  of  legs  it  must  have,  thick  and  strong,  like///- 
lars  ;  what  it  has  got  for  toes.  Infer  whether  it  hasjotn/s  in 
its  legs  or  not ;  necessary  to  enable  it  to  kneel  for  service  of 
man.  Its  head  big  and  heavy,  with  hanging  ears ;  infer  the 
character  of  its  neck.  With  a  short  neck,  could  it  drink  off 
the  ground  f  The  substitute  in  the  shape  of  &  trunk;  de- 
scribe this  ;  illustrate  its  power  by  an  anecdote — mouth  and 
teeth  and  tusks — skin  compared  with  that  of  the  horse  in 
color  and  covering.  Show  the  picture  of  the  animal. 

How  //  lives — perhaps  some  one  may  infer  from  its  struc- 
ture that  it  is  not  flesh-eating — eats  leaves  and  twigs  of 
trees  in  his  tame  state  ;  rice  also  is  given. 

Countries  it  lives  in,  and  is  intended  for. 

How  it  is  used  after  being  tamed being  strong,  it  can 

do  much  work — carries  loads,  pulls  or  pushes  carriages,  etc. 
— used  for  riding  on — easy  to  tame,  gentle,  and  knows  well 
what  is  required  of  it. 

NOTE. — The  inferential  or  comparative  aspect  may  be  ex- 
tended or  diminished  to  suit  the  class  addressed.  The 
order  here  followed  is — (i)  structure ;  (2)  habits  ;  (3)  uses. 
This  is  not  always  the  best  order  to  follow.  Thus,  in  a 
lesson  on  the  "  camel  "  the  habits  or  mode  of  life  had  better 
precede  the  structure.  The  rule  is  to  begin  with  whatever 
the  children  know  best  about  the  subject.  In  the  lesson 
before  us,  all  that  they  know  about  it  may  be  its  general 
size  and  appearance,  with  the  presence  of  the  trunk  or  tusks. 

II. — THE  SPONGE. 

Notice  the  various  uses  of  the  sponge  for  domestic  pur- 
poses 


122  EARLY  ED UCA TION. 

Then  its  qualities  by  inspection. — Its  color,  light  yellow , 
soft  to  the  touch  ;  light  in  weight ;  easily  squeezed  by  the 
hand,  i.e.  compressible ;  springs  .  back  again  after  being 
squeezed,  i.e.,  elastic ;  full  of  little  canals,  i.e.,  porous;  sucks 
in  water,  i.e.,  absorbent ;  when  torn,  seems  to  consist  of  a 
fibrous  substance. 

[The  different  qualities  here  indicated  must  be  clearly 
wrought  out  by  the  teacher,  and  verified  by  the  class,  be- 
fore the  terms  are  given.  According  to  the  advancement 
of  the  class,  other  articles  may  be  named  exhibiting  any  of 
the  same  qualities.] 

How  it  is  useful  for  washing — because  of  its  sucking  in 
the  water,  and  throwing  it  out  again  under  pressure,  the 
fibres  resuming  their  place  again  from  their  elasticity,  and 
ready  to  suck  in  as  before. 

Tell  the  interesting  story  of  "  where  and  how  it  grows," 
and  "  how  it  is  got." 

III.— THE   TERM   "  POROUS." 

The  term  is  supposed  to  have  been  illustrated  before  in 
connection  with  some  familiar  substance — sponge,  for  in- 
stance, as  above. 

Mention  anything  porous  ?  Sponge.  How  do  we  know  it 
is  porous  ?  what  like  is  it  ?  Full  of  holes  or  apertures.  Can 
we  always  see  the  holes  ?  No ;  they  may  be  very  small. 
How  do  we  know  it  is  porous,  then  ?  Any  other  thing  that 
is  porous  ?  Bread  ;  illustrate  how  it  is  so.  Wood  is  porous  ; 
illustrate  this  by  wood  that  has  been  lying  in  water.  Loaf- 
sugar  is  porous  ;  illustrate  this  by  the  appearance  it  pre- 
sents when  dropped  into  tea.  On  the  strength  of  these 
illustrations,  an  easy  definition  of  "  porous"  may  be  given  : 
porous  means  "  full  of  pores,  or  little  pipes."  Then  they 
may  be  told  of  the  porousness  of  the  skin.  [The  microscope 
would  be  of  great  use  in  such  a  lesson.] 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION. 


123 


112.  There   is  considerable  danger  that  the 
Examples    teacher    may  confound    the   character  of    the 

for  the  Third  / 

stage.  "early    and  ".middle    object-lesson  in  his  prac- 

tice, and  theretore  a  number  of  examples  have 
been  given  of  these,  particularly  of  the  "  early,"  for  analysis. 
There  is  less  danger  of  erring  in  this  way  with  the  "  higher" 
object-lesson,  so  that  one  outline  may  suffice  : — 

THE  COMMON  HEN  THE  COMMON  DUCK 

lives 

about  ponds,  in  which  it 
swims, 


on  the  ground  about  our 
houses. 

short  and  nearly  round, 


has  a  body, 


thick  and  upright, 


short  and  sharp,  to  peck 
in  ground, 

with  separate  claws,  fitted 
for  walking  and  for 
scraping  in  the  ground, 


short,  and  not  fitted  for 
water,  either  for  a  pond 
or  for  rain. 


a  neck, 


a  bill 


feet, 


feathers, 


long  and  flat,  for  resting 
on  water, 

longer  and  curving,  to 
stretch  under  water, 

broad  and  flat,  to  grope 
in  the  mud, 

with  a  web,  and  placed 
far  behind  for  swim- 
ming, so  that  it  does 
not  walk  well, 

longer,  and  constructed 
so  as  to  be  light,  and  to 
throw  off  the  water. 


113.  As  soon  as  the  children  can  read  print 
Use  of         or  script  hand,  this  ability  should  be  turned  to 

Blackboard  ' 

in  connection  account  in  the  object-lesson.  The  heads  of 
ject-iesson. "  topics,  or  the  names  of  qualities,  should  be 
written  down  to  make  them  acquainted  with  the 
forms  of  the  words  as  well  as  to  aid  the  impressing  of  the 
lesson  ;  and  the  blackboard  should  present  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  each  lesson  the  outline  of  what  has  been  said.  The 
previous  paragraph  exhibits  what  might  be  the  appearance 
of  the  notes  on  the  board  at  the  end  of  the  lesson  there 


124  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

sketched.  The  necessity  of  sketching  on  the  blackboard 
for  illustration,  as  it  is  felt  in  other  lessons  as  well  as  in  the 
object-lesson,  will  be  adverted  to  hereafter  (§  220). 

-^"N. 

114.  The  moral  aspect  of  the  object-lesson  is 
Moral  as-  not  to  be  overlooked.  There  is  abundant  room, 
Object-lesson. incidentally,  for  profitable  reflection.  This  may 
take  different  forms.  Thus,  in  lessons  on  ob- 
jects drawn  from  the  region  of  nature,  a«  from  animal  life 
from  the  phenomena  of  the  world,  the  beauty  in  form  or  in 
adaptation  which  we  constantly  meet  with  cannot  but  im- 
press us  with  the  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  of  the 
Creator,  and  with  a  sense  of  the  homage  which  is  therefore 
due  to  Him.  From  various  animals  we  learn  useful,  prac- 
tical lessons  regarding  personal  or  social  habits;  as  order 
and  diligence  from  the  ant,  perseverance  from  the  spider, 
etc.;  also,  we  have  suggested  to  us  our  duty  towards  them. 
And  from  certain  kinds  of  lessons  such  duties  maybe  easily 
inferred  as  that  of  using  temperately  and  thankfully  our 
gifts,  of  kindness  to  others  less  favored  than  ourselves,  of 
economy,  etc.  Some  of  these  are  exemplified  in  the  out- 
lines given  in  §  no.  No  general  rules  can  be  laid  down 
either  for  the  mode  or  the  extent  of  such  reflections ;  be- 
yond these,  that  where  occasion  presents  itself  we  are 
bound  to  avail  ourselves  of  it,  and  that  the  reflections 
should  be  short  and  naturally  suggested  by  the  lesson.* 


2.    Number. 

115.  NUMBER  is  a  property  of  things  which 
,,  Natye  of     the  child  observes  very  early,  so  that  he  may  be 

the  Infant-  .  J  J  J 

School  in-      exercised  upon  it  as  soon  as  he  enters  the  in- 
struction in      f  1        1        TT  1_  1_  •  J 

Number.         fant  school.     He  may  be  subjected  to  a  mental 
training  of    very  considerable  extent  in  con- 
nection with  number ;  regarding  which  the   following  re- 
marks may  be  made : — 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  125 

(i.)  As  the  child  comes  by  his  first  notions  of  number 
through  the  medium  of  objects,  so  his  whole  training  must 
be  based  on  the  observation  of  these.  He  does  not  use 
numbers  for  their  own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  things 
to  be  numbered ;  he  counts  by  sight,  and  is  not  able  to  ab- 
stract number  from  the  things.  He  knows  what  five  balls 
or  five  horses  are,  but  he  cannot  reason  about  the  number 
five.  If  it  be  understood  that  it  is  with  number  as  a  prop- 
erty of  bodies  that  the  infant  has  to  deal,  and  not  with  the 
science  of  number,  it  will  be  very  clear  that  he  must  not  be 
occupied  with  rules  or  technical  operations.  This  prelim- 
inary course  of  training  is  termed  "  on  number,"  to  distin- 
guish it  from  the  formal  study  of  arithmetic.  The  teacher 
will  find  no  aid  for  it  in  the  ordinary  text-books  on  arith- 
metic ;  he  must  give  it  orally  himself.* 

116. — (2.)  The  child's  observation  of  number 
Extent  of  it.  will  carry  him  over  a  wider  range  of  numerical 
operation  than  might  be  thought  possible  at 
first  view.  It  will  enable  him  to  work  practically  in  all  the 
fundamental  operations.  The  outline  of  the  course  may  be 
conveniently  indicated  by  the  following  heads  :  (#.)  Prac- 
tical Numeration  ;  (£.)  The  Adding  of  Numbers ;  (c.~)  The 
Subtracting  of  Numbers  ;  (//.)  Multiplying  of  Numbers ;  (e.) 
Dividing  of  Numbers:  (/.)  Combined  Operations;  (£•.) 
Parts  or  Fractions  of  Numbers ;  (A.)  Tables  of  Applied 
Number  or  Standard  Measures.  The  details  to  be  given 
under  each  of  these  heads  should  be  studied  with  a  view, 
not  only  to  the  nature  of  the  operations,  but  to  their  order. 
All  we  ask  is  that  the  teacher  shall  bear  in  mind  that  it 
is  with  infants  he  is  dealing;  that,  therefore,  he  shall  not 
expect  them  to  comprehend  or  perform  anything  that  is 

*  Since  published,  "  First  Steps  in  Arithmetic,"  by  Rev.  James  Currie, 
A.M. 


I26  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

complex ;  and  that  he  shall  speak  to  them  in  familiar,  un- 
technical  language. 

117. — (3.)  This  training  in  number,  well  con- 
its  Value,  ducted,  is  very  valuable  in  the  way  of  preparing 
for  future  study.  The  great  obstacle  to  a  use- 
ful study  of  arithmetic  in  school  is  the  abstract  way  in 
which  it  is  often  taught,  owing  to  which  the  pupil  never 
thinks  of  finding  illustrations  of  what  he  is  taught  in  the 
things  that  meet  him  in  daily  life.  From  the  habit  of  close 
association  between  number  and  things  which  it  gives  him, 
this  preliminary  training  will  give  him  a  great  advantage  in 
his  lessons  in  the  upper  school,  even  if  its  spirit  be  not 
there  carried  out  as  it  ought  to  be. 

Practical  118.    PRACTICAL  NUMERATION. — (l.)    Signtfi- 

w?theExamn-'  cance  of  the  numbers  up  to  ten.  Each  number 
pies.  must  be  taken  separately,  and  a  lesson  be  given 

on  its  power.  Thus,  for  the  lesson  on  "  one,"  write  down 
on  the  board  one  line  I  one  dot  .  one  -j-  one  round  O  etc., 
and  have  them  simultaneously  repeated,  one  line,  one  dot, 
etc. ;  lay  off  on  the  lines  of  the  ball-frame  one  ball ;  point  to" 
various  things  in  the  school,  and  have  them  similarly  named, 
with  stress  on  the  number.  Make  the  class  mark  down  one 
line,  one  dot,  etc.,  on  their  slates.  In  the  lesson  on  "  two," 
show  how  it  is  formed  by  putting  another  one  to  the  otie  al- 
ready had ;  proceed  quite  as  in  the  former  lesson ;  extend 
and  vary  the  questioning  thus :  a  boy  has  two  eyes,  two 
hands,  etc. ;  a  cart  has  two  wheels,  etc.,  the  class  supplying 
the  words  in  italics ;  and  conversely,  how  many  legs  has  a 
bird  ?  how  many  scales  has  a  balance  ?  etc.  Proceed  simi- 
larly with  the  remaining  numbers  in  separate  lessons,  al- 
ways keeping  in  view  to  show  how  each  number  arises  out 
of  its  predecessor  by  the  addition  of  another  of  the  same 
kind ;  and  for  this  purpose  introducing  each  lesson  by  a 
reference  to  the  former. 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  127 

(2.)  Reckoning  ivitJi  the  numbers  up  to  ten — not  only  from 
one,  but  from  other  starting-points — not  only  forwards  but 
backwards — not  only  by  odds  but  by  evens — not  only  in 
regular  order  but  following  the  number  of  balls  the  teacher 
may  lay  off — the  clildren  sometimes  raising  a  number  of 
fingers,  or  marking  on  the  slate  a  number  of  dots  or  lines, 
corresponding  to  the  number  of  balls  laid  off. 

(3.)  The  symbols  up  to  ten,  in  the  first  instance,  must  be 
learned  gradually.  To  verify  the  child's  knowledge  of  these 
he  may  be  required  to  lay  off  balls,  or  mark  down  dots,  cor- 
responding to  the  symbol  which  the  teacher  writes  on  the 
board  in  silence,  and  conversely  to  write  down  the  sym- 
bol for  the  number  of  balls  laid  off  by  the  teacher. 

(4.)  In  passing  beyond  ten,  the  eleventh  ball  should  be  laid 
off  on  the  line  below  that  which  has  the  ten,  the  twenty- 
first  on  the  third  line,  and  so  on  ;  so  that  it  may  be  seen 
how  eleven  is  ten  and  one ;  twelve,  ten  and  two ;  twenty, 
two  tens;  fifty-five,  five  tens  and  five,  etc.  Each  number 
will  not  require  a  distinct  lesson. 

119.  THE  ADDING  OF  NUMBERS,  (i.)  Adding 

The  Adding     _ 
of  Numbers,    the  numbers  under  ten  to  each  of  it  ion  in  succes- 

pies!  E  "  szon  •'  *he  receiving  number  being,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, kept  constant  throughout  the  ten  additions. 
Thus  the  first  lesson  would  be  on  "adding  to  one ;"  i  and  i 
are  2,  2  and  i  are  3,  3  and  i  are  4,  etc.,  the  children  count- 
ing in  each  case  and  then  repeating  the  formulae  just  set 
down.  Then  take  the  lesson  backwards,  and  after  that  in 
any  order,  only  keeping  the  receiving  number  the  same; 
then  apply  the  lesson  by  means  of  practical  questions,  thus  : 
John  had  i  penny,  and  his  mother  gave  him  2  pennies  more ; 
how  much  had  he  ?  There  was  i  tree  standing  at  the  water- 
side, and  4  more  near  it ;  how  many  trees  in  all  ?  Do  not 
be  content  with  a  mere  number  as  the  answers  to  these 
questions,  e.g.,  3  to  the  first,  and  5  to  the  second.  Insist 


128  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

on  the  full  answer,  3d.,  5  trees,  or,  "  he  would  have  3d.," 
there  were  5  trees ;"  and  the  class  should  often  simulta- 
neously add,  "  for  i  penny  and  2  pennies  are  3  pennies,  i 
tree  and  4  trees  are  5  trees."  Devote  a  similar  lesson  to  2 
as  a  constant  receiving  number ;  i  and  2  are  3,  2  and  2  are 
4,  3  and  2  are  5,  etc.,  and  so  on  up  to  10,  taking  care,  when 
the  sum  goes  beyond  10,  not  to  put  more  than  10  balls  or 
10  marks  on  the  slate  in  one  line,  but  carrying  the  excess  to 
the  line  below.  Encourage  the  pupils  to  put  questions  to 
one  another,  particularly  of  the  practical  sort. 

(2.)  Adding  the  numbers  under  ten,  in  their  order,  to  each 
of  them  in  succession  ;  the  added  number  being  now  kept  con- 
stant throughout  the  ten  additions.  Thus,  the  first  lesson 
would  be  the  "  adding  of  one ;"  i  and  i  are  2,  i  and  2  are  3, 

1  and  3  are  4,  etc.     For  second  lesson,  2  and  i  are  3,  2  and 

2  are  4,  2  and  3  are  5,  etc. ;  and  so  on  up  to  10.     The  exer- 
cises should  be  conducted  precisely  as  the  former  ones.     It 
may  be  well  to  observe  at  this  point  that  already  a  series  of 
not  less  than  twenty  lessons  in  addition  alone  is  provided, 
excluding  revisal.     The  teacher  who  thinks  that  this  minute 
subdivision  is  unnecessary  and  that  the  children  can  get 
over  more  ground  in  one  lesson,  and  who  accordingly  does 
not  keep  to  one  number  for  one  lesson,  understands  neither 
the  infant  mind,  nor  the  object  with  which  the  course  is 
given.     He  destroys  the  gradation  in  it,  fuses  its  whole  ma- 
terials into  one  mass,  and  in  this  way  deprives  it  of  any 
training  power.     This  remark  applies  to  the  whole  of  in- 
fant-school instruction. 

(3.)  Exercises  of  a  converse  kind  to  the  two  foregoing : — 
Whereas  in  those  the  two  constituent  numbers  were  given 
and  the  sum  required,  let  any  number  now  be  given  and  its 
two  constituents  be  sought  thus :  what  two  numbers  make 
up  4?  6?  8?  All  the  pairs  that  make  up  any  one  should 
be  obtained ;  thus,  for  4,  i  and  3,  2  and  2,  3  and  I, 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  I  29 

(4.)  Adding  may  be  extended,  so  as  to  include  three  small 
numbers,  and  by  degrees  more. 

(5.)  The  adding  of  tens,  first  with  themselves  alone, — 10 
and  10  are  2  tens  or  20;  10  and  10  and  10  are  3  tens  or  30, 
etc.,  which  is  just  the  adding  of  lines  of  balls  instead  of  sin- 
gle balls;  and  then  with  other  numbers, — as  10  and  7  are  17, 
20  and  5  are  25,  31  and  3  are  34.  Each  new  number  will  not 
now  need  a  separate  lesson,  for  the  process  between  30 
and  40  is  just  the  same  as  between  20  and  30,  and 
may  be  learned  at  one  and  the  same  time.  Thus,  let  the 
teacher  set  off  20  on  the  two  highest  lines  of  the  ball  frame, 
and  30  on  three  lines  lower  down,  say  on  the  sixth  and 
seventh  lines ;  let  him  add  to  the  20  one  ball  on  the  third 
line,  and  to  the  30  one  ball  on  the  eighth,  then  2,  then  3,  etc. ; 
it  will  easily  be  seen  how  30  and  4  are  34,  or  how  32  and  4 
are  36,  just  as  20  and  4  are  24,  or  22  and  4  are  26,  the  2  tens 
in  the  one  case  and  the  3  in  the  other  remaining  quite  un- 
affected by  the  process. 

trLhtin  Soufb"  12°*  THE  SuBTRACTING  OF  NUMBERS.— If  it 
Numb"?s°  be  understood  that  all  the  operations  in  num- 
pilS!  E>  "  ber  are  to  be  conducted  in  the  same  spirit  as 
those  of  addition,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  give  the  outlines 
only  of  the  following  ones  : — 

(i.)  Exercises  in  subtracting  the  numbers  under  ten  from 
each  other  in  succession,  the  minuend  being  in  the  first  in- 
stance constant.  Thus,  9  from  10,  8  from  10,  7  from  10,  etc. ; 
8  from  9,  7  from  9,  etc.  Subtracting  should  be  based  on 
addition :  9  from  10  is  i,for  9  and  i  are  10;  8  from  10  is  2, 
for  8  and  2  are  10,  etc. ;  verified  at  each  step  by  use  of  the 
balls,  etc, 

(2.)  Exercises  in  which  the  subtrahend  is  constant, — as  i 
from  2  is  one,  i  from  3  is  2,  etc.,  2  from  3  is  i,  2  from  4  is  2, 
etc. 

(3.)  Exercises  in  which  minuend  and  remainder  are  given > 

9 


130  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

— as>  what  must  be  taken  from  8  to  leave  three  ?  etc. ;  also 
in  which  subtrahend  and  remainder  are  given,  as,  from 
what  must  6  be  taken  to  leave  4  ?  etc. 

(4.)  Exercises  in  double  subtraction, — as,  take  2  from  8  and 
other  2,  3  from  10  and  then  4,  etc. 

(5.)  Exercises  combining  addition  and  subtraction, — as,  add 
4  to  6  and  then  take  away  2,  etc. 

(6.)  Exercises  with  the  tens, — as,  10  from  17,  10  from  30, 
90  from  loo,  30  from  35,  5  from  35,  6  from  8,  and,  with  it,  6 
from  48,  etc. 

(7).  Applied  exercises  to  be  constantly  given  throughout  the 
whole  series. 

(8.)  Addition  and  subtraction  may  now  be  conjoined  with 
numeration  ;  as,  count  up  to  100  by  twos,  by  threes,  by  fours, 
by  fives,  etc. ;  count  back  from  100  by  tens,  by  fives,  by 
fours,  by  threes,  and  by  twos ;  or  count  back  from .  90  by 
threes  (90  being  a  multiple  of  three),  from  80  by  fours  (80 
being  a  multiple  of  four),  etc.*  But  the  symbols  for  these 
larger  numbers  must  be  taught  very  slowly. 

The  Muiti-      121.  THE  MULTIPLYING  OF  NUMBERS.— The 

plying  of 

numbers.  "multiplying"  of  arithmetic  is  an  artificial  pro- 
cess derived  from  addition.  Children  have  some  difficulty 
in  understanding  its  use,  and  always  tend  in  their  reckon- 
ing to  fall  back  on  the  natural  process  of  addition.  To  ob- 
viate the  difficulty,  the  artificial  process  must  be  taught 
through  the  natural. 

(i.)  Exercises  in  multiplying  the  numbers  under  ten  by 
each  other  in  succession,  the  multiplicand  in  the  first  instance 
remaining  the  same.  Thus  : — 

2  times  i  are  2  2  times  2  are  4 

313  326 

etc.      etc.  etc.       etc. 

*  We  have  used  the  technical  terms  in  the  exposition  for  convenience'  sake, 
such  as  minuend,  subtrahend,  multiple,  etc. ;  these,  and  any  hereafter  to  be  used, 
are  addressed  to  the  teacher,  however,  and  should  not  be  used  before  the  class, 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  131 

The  proper  way  to  put  these  exercises  is  this  : — 

1  and  i  are  2,  then  2  times  I  are  2 

1  and  i  and  13,  3  I         3 

1  and  i  and  i  and  14,  4  14 

2  and  2  are  4,  then  2  times  2  are  4 

2  and  2  and  2         6,  3  26 

2  and  2  and  2  and  2         8,  4  28 

etc.  etc. 

(2)  Exercises  in  which  the  multiplier  is  constant.     Thus: — 

2  times  i  are  2  3  times  i  are  3 

224  326 

236  339 

etc.  etc. 

This  step  is  more  difficult  than  the  former ;  any  opera- 
tion is  not  seen  to  rise  out  of  the  preceding  one  so  evi- 
dently. In  each  of  the  two  steps  now  given  one  number 
only  should  be  taken  as  the  subject  of  lesson,  either  as  mul- 
tiplicand or  multiplier,  and  the  table  of  results  connected 
with  it  thoroughly  learned. 

(3)  Exercises  in  multiplying  tens  and  in  multiplying  by  tens. 

(4)  Exercises  in  decomposing  numbers  into  their  factors. — 
First  give  one  factor ;  as,  what  must  4  be  multiplied  by  to 
give  12?     Then  require  both  factors,  as,  what  two  numbers 
multiplied  by  each  other  give  6,  8,  9  ?     This  exercise  corre- 
sponds to  the  decomposition  of  numbers  under  the  head  of 
addition,  with  which  it  may  be   compared.     The   teacher 
must  carry  the  eye  of  the  child  along  with  him  in  this  pro- 
cess.    Let  him  make  rectangles  and  squares  with  the  balls. 
Thus,  if  he  wishes  the  factors  of  12,  he  should  present  12 
to  the  class,  (i)   in  a  line,  (2)  in  two  lines,  (3)  in  three  or 
four  lines  ;  thus  : — 

(i  X  12) 

(i  X  6) 

(3  X  4) 


1J2  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

It  is  an  interesting  exercise  for  him  to  make  rectangles 
on  the  ball-frame,  or  to  get  the  children  to  make  them, 
then  cause  the  class  to  count  the  balls  in  them  by  counting 
the  two  sides,  and  notice  how  the  removal  of  a  row  or  two 
rows  affects  the  result ;  and  conversely  to  make  them  con- 
struct rectangles  of  which  he  gives  the  number  in  the  sides. 

(5)  Exercises  in   double  multiplication  by  small  numbers, 
and  in  the  additig  of  two  multiplications. 

(6)  Exercises  of  application,  e.g. — Five  boys  get  2d.  each, 
how  much  money  was  given  to  all  ?    John  passed  3  flocks  of 
sheep  in  coming  to  school,  having  6  in  each  ;  how  many 
sheep  did  he  see  ?     Two  loaves  at  2d.,  and  3  at  3d.,  cost  how 
much  in  all  ?  Three  of  you  hold  up  all  the  fingers  in  the  right 
hand,  how  many  fingers  are   up  ?     Six  of  you  hold  up  all 
fingers  except  the  thumbs,  how  many  fingers  are  up?     In 
each  of  these  6  seats  there  are  9  boys,  how  many  are  there 
in  the  gallery  ? 

The  field  for  putting  these  applied  questions  is  widening  ; 
the  teacher's  ingenuity  must  task  itself  accordingly 

122.  THE  DIVIDING  OF  NUMBERS.— As  mul- 

The  Divid- 
ing of  Num-    tiplication  is  an  artificial  form  of  addition,  so 

division  is  of  subtraction ;  the  same  link  of 
connection  must  therefore  be  kept  up  between  division  and 
subtraction. 

(i)  Exercises  where  the  divisor  is  constant. — To  give  the 
class  an  idea  of  the  nature  of  this  operation,  the  teacher 
may  count  10  or  12  balls  in  their  presence,  saying  that  he 
wishes  to  give  2  to  each  child  and  to  know  how  many 
children  he  can  give  them  to  ;  or  to  arrange  the  children 
into  rows  of  2  each  and  know  how  many  rows  there  will  be. 
The  result  will  be  attained,  in  the  first  instance,  by  taking 
2  and  2  successively  till  the  number  is  exhausted,  i.e.,  by 
subtraction.  The  first  lesson  in  division  should  be  "  divid- 
ing by  2  ;"  for  which  purpose  the  balls  on  the  frame  may  be 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  133 

arranged  in  successive  lines  below  each  other,  2,  4,  6,  8,  10, 
and  12.  Then  in  first  line  (2)  there  is  one  2,  in  second  line 
(4)  2  twos,  etc.;  and  the  table  of  results  is  learned,  2  in  2 
once,  and  2  in  4  twice,  etc.  For  3  the  same  arrangement  of 
the  balls  may  be  adopted  ;  but  for  numbers  above  that  they 
must  be  placed  in  mass  to  get  dividends  large  enough. 
There  are  no  better  illustrations  of  division  than  those 
which  are  got  by  arranging  the  children  themselves  in  rows. 

(2)  Easy  exercises  with  remainders. 

(3.)  Rxercises  in  which  multiplication  and  division  are 
used  corr datively, — as  10  in  30,  3  times;  then  3  times  10  or 
10  times  3  are  30. 

(4)  Exercises  of  application. — If  Qd.  be  divided  among  3 
girls,  what  will  each  get?  How  many  sixpences  in  i8d? 
weeks  in  21  days  ?  etc.  In  one  seat,  where  all  the  children 
held  up  all  their  fingers,  there  were  100  fingers  up ;  how 
many  children  in  the  seat  ?  etc. 

123.  COMBINED  OPERATIONS.  —  Cross-ques- 
Combined    tioning  is  of  great  use  to  the  teacher ;  it  enters 
3ns'     largely  into  his  art  of  impressing.     It  connects 
one  point  of  the  pupil's  knowledge  with  another, 
and  makes  them  all  available  for  mutual  illustration.     It 
may  be  profitably  resorted  to  in  lessons  on  number.     For 
this  pnrpose  combined  operations  may  be  performed  almost 
from  the  beginning  of  the   course.     Thus,  when  the  chil- 
dren have  got  a  little  of  addition  and  a  little  of  subtraction, 
they  may  be  practised  on  both  adding  and  subtracting,  as 
parts   of  the  same   question;   so  with   multiplication   and 
division. 

The  following  example  shows  how  cross-questioning  may 
be  used  in  connection  with  any  number : — 

On  the  number  8. — What  is  the  last  below  it  ?  Count  up 
to  it?  Next  above  it?  Count  four  above  it?  Two  num- 
bers that  make  it  up  by  adding  ?  other  two  ?  Three  nurri- 


134  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

bers  that  make  it  up  by  adding  ?  What  must  be  added  to 
five  to  make  it  ?  Take  one  from  it  ?  two  ?  three  ?  How 
much  greater  is  it  than  four  ?  than  two  ?  how  much  less 
than  ten  ?  than  twelve  ?  What  taken  from  eleven  will  give 
it  ?  How  many  twos  in  it  ?  fours  ?  What  number  divided 
by  two  will  give  it  ?  by  three  ?  What  does  forty  give 
divided  by  it  ? 

Then  the  questioning  may  pass  on  to  concrete  numbers: — 
Eight  boys  having  apples  put  them  into  two  rows,  how 
many  in  each  ?  then  into  four,  how  many  in  each  ?  Each 
boy  got  an  additional  apple,  how  many  had  they  all  now? 
One  boy  ate  his,  how  many  remained  ?  two,  how  many  re- 
mained ?  Only  one  boy  of  the  eight  kept  his,  how  many 
were  eaten  ?  Other  three  boys  came  in  each  with  apples, 
how  many  apples  were  there  now  ?  with  two  each,  how 
many  now?  Four  boys  gave  theirs  to  their  neighbors,  how 
many  had  each  of  these  four  ?  and  how  many  apples  were 
there  in  all  ?  These  eight  apples  were  taken  from  a  stall  in 
which  there  were  twenty,  how  many  remained  in  the  stall  ? 
And  so  on  indefinitely. — Such  exercises  may  be  made  very 
amusing,  and  are  valuable  from  the  readiness  they  en- 
courage. 

124.  PARTS  OR  FRACTIONS  OF  NUMBERS.— 

Jrarts  or 

Fractions  of    Elementary  notions  and  operations  in  fractions 

Numbers.  .  .,    .  .       .  .     . 

are  just  as  available  in  the  infant  school  as 
those  in  whole  numbers.  The  half  of  a  thing  is  as  easy  of 
comprehension  as  the  double  of  it,  the  third  part  as  three 
times  it ;  that  two  halves  make  a  whole  or  three  halves  one 
and  a  half  as  that  two  twos  make  four,  or  three  threes 
nine ;  provided  the  illustration  given  in  the  two  cases  be 
equally  simple. 

(i)  Exercises  to  illustrate  what  a  fraction  is. — An  apple 
is  to  be  divided  between  Willie  and  his  sister,  what  must  be 
done  with  it?  It  must  be  cut,  Will  it  do  to  cut  into  a  big 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  135 

piece  and  a  small  piece  ?  No,  they  must  get  pieces  of  the 
same  size.  Look  at  me,  now,  while  I  cut  it  (teacher  hold- 
ing up  the  two  pieces).  Are  they  about  the  same  size  ? 
Yes.  Then  each  of  them  is  called  a  half.  How  many 
halves  in  the  whole  ?  Two.  Could  I  divide  an  orange  into 
two  parts  of  same  size?  Yes.  What  would  each  part  be? 
A  half.  Here  is  a  bit  of  string,  of  paper,  of  wood,  etc., 
which  I  shall  divide  into  two  bits  of  same  size;  what  do 
you  call  each  ?  A  half.  Then  if  I  put  two  halves  together, 
what  do  they  make  up  ?  The  whole. — Take  another  apple, 
and  illustrate  a  third  in  the  same  way.  The  subdivision  of 
the  halves  will  show  how  fourths  or  quarters  arise,  of  the 
thirds  how  sixths  and  ninths  arise,  and  of  the  fourths  how 
eighths.  The  fifths  and  sevenths  must  be  explained  by  cut- 
tings for  themselves.  Beyond  these  fractions  it  is  not 
necessary  to  go.  For  further  illustration  it  would  be  desira- 
ble to  have  a  rod,  say  a  yard  long,  divided  into  halves, 
fourths,  and  eighths,  and  another  into  halves,  thirds,  and 
sixths.  The  solid  cube  divided  into  eight  parts,  and  an- 
other into  six  parts,  would  also  be  very  useful.  But  the 
balls  on  the  frame,  and  counters  of  any  sort,  may  also  be 
turned  to  account ;  for  six  balls  may  be  divided  into  two 
groups  or  three  groups,  to  illustrate  halves  and  thirds,  and 
so  on. 

(2.)  Nature  of  the  exercises  in  fractions.  In  equivalence: 
How  many  halves  in  one  ?  in  two  ?  etc. — How  many  thirds 
in  one  ?  in  two  ?  etc.-  -How  many  fourths  in  one  ?  in  two. 
etc. — How  many  fourths  in  a  half  ?  in  a  half  and  a  fourth  ? 
— How  many  sixths  in  a  half  ?  in  a  half  and  a  sixth  ? — How 
many  sixths  in  a  third?  etc.  In  addition:  A  half  and  a 
half  make  ?  a  half  and  a  half  and  a  half  make  ?  a  half  and  a 
fourth  make  ?  one  third  and  one  third  make  ?  one  third 
and  two  thirds  make  ?  one  fourth  and  one  fourth  make  ? 
one  fourth  and  two  fourths  make?  one  fourth  and  one  half 


136  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

make  ?  etc.  .  In  subtraction :  One  half  from  one  gives  ? 
from  one  and  a  half  gives  ?  one  fourth  from  three  fourths 
gives  ?  from  one  'half  gives  ?  from  one  gives  ?  from  one 
and  a  fourth  gives  ?  etc.  hi  multiplication :  What  is  the 
double  of  a  fourth  ?  four  times  fourth  ?  three  times  a 
third  ?  three  times  a  sixth  ?  etc.  In  division :  How  many 
halves  in  one  ?  in  two  ?  in  one  and  a  half  ? — How  many 
fourths  in  one?  in  one  and  a  half?  in  a  half?  etc.  In 
comparison  :  Whether  is  a  half  or  a  third  the  greater  ? 
a  third  or  a  fourth  ?  a  half  or  three  fourths  a  fifth  or 
a  sixth  ?  etc.  Applied  questions  may  be  given  under  all 
these  heads,  especially  with  the  pence  table.  What  is  a 
farthing  ?  how  many  in  twopence  ?  Difference  between  a 
penny  and  a  farthing?  a  halfpenny  and  a  farthing?  What 
must  you  add  to  a  halfpenny  to  make  twopence  ?  etc.  It 
may  be  repeated  here  that  for  verification  of  the  results  the 
children  should  manipulate  with  the  illustrative  apparatus 
as  well  as  the  teacher, 

125.  The  ball-frame  is  the  principal  means  of 
for  th^use  of  illustration  used  in  infant  schools ;  it  is  proper, 
frame*.11"  therefore,  to  give  the  following  cautions  as  to 
the  manner  of  using  it :  (i)  It  is  not  to  be 
used  beyond  the  pupil's  ability  to  follow  it  with  the  eye. 
Rapid  operation  with  40,  60,  or  80  balls  does  nothing  to  aid 
the  observation ;  it  can  neither  lead  to,  nor  verify,  any  re- 
sult. When  the  frame  is  used  at  all,  it  must  give  bond  fide 
illustration.  (3)  It  must  be  used  as  a  means,  not  as  an  end. 
The  child  is  not  learning  the  ball  frame,  but  operations  in 
number  through  its  help.  Particular  manipulations,  there- 
fore, need  not  always  be  repeated  after  they  have  served 
their  purpose.  It  has  already  been  indicated  that  the  differ- 
ent operations,  after  being  performed  with  the  aid  of  the 
frame,  are  to  be  performed  without  it. 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  137 

Manner  of        126>  These    lessons   in   number   may  be   as- 
r.onducting     sumed  to  be  given  by  way  of  collective-lesson. 

the  Collective  ,,../.  t  .        . 

Lesson  on  Interest,  and  rapid  distribution  of  questioning, 
ber>  are  the  elements  of  success  in  such  teaching. 
To  be  interesting,  the  questions  must  deal  with  familiar 
things,  must  be  varied,  and  must  be  simply  expressed  ;  in  a 
word,  must  come  into  contact  with  the  child's  daily  experi- 
ence. To  be  rapidly  distributed,  the  teacher  must  have  at 
command  all  the  possible  forms  in  which  questions  may  be 
put ;  with  which  view  he  should,  at  the  beginning  of  his 
career,  write  down  all  these  forms,  and  learn  them  as  so 
many  formulae.  He  has  then  only  to  vary  the  things  men- 
tioned in  the  questions,  which  a  little  practice  will  enable 
him  freely  to  do.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a  lesson  of 
this  nature  can  succeed  unless  the  children  feel  that  the 
teacher  speaks  from  a  full  mind,  and  is  quite  at  ease. 

127.  STANDARD  MEASURES. — Lessons  on 
appUed  to  number  must  make  the  child  familiar  with  the 
Measures.  various  units  of  measurement  used  in  the  affairs 
of  life.  These  are  excellent  illustrations  of  the 
different  operations  ;  and,  besides,  he  needs  to  know  them. 
He  must  become  familiar — (i)  With  the  units  themselves; 
(2)  with  the  relation  of  different  units  of  the  same  kind ; 
and  (3)  with  the  application  of  them  to  practical  purposes. 
For  the  first  of  these  ends,  the  units  must  be  constantly  be- 
fore him ;  for  the  second,  he  must  see  them  compared,  and 
with  his  own  hands  compare  them  ;  for  the  third,  he  must 
see  them  applied,  and  with  his  own  hands  apply  them,  to 
the  measurement  of  things  about  him.  In  this  way,  what 
appears  so  formidable  a  task  when  presented  in  the  shape 
of  reduction-tables  to  be  learned,  will  become  an  easy,  nat- 
ural, and  most  interesting  exercise  of  his  senses  and  his  ac- 
tivity. It  is  needless  to  carry  him  through  all  the  tables; 
those  in  most  common  use  will  sulfrcqj"  ond.4hc  first  place 
is  due  to — 


0*  THT5 

[7BRSITT)) 


138  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

Number  as       ^^'  Number  as  applied  to  Value,  or  the  Money- 
applied  to       table. — The   child  necessarily  becomes  familiar 

Value.  .    . 

with  this  to  a  certain  extent  without  any  special 
training,  and  the  preceding  exercises  have  assumed  such  an 
acquaintance  ;  but  it  is  well  that  distinct  practice  in  the  use 
of  money  be  given.  He  must  complete  his  acquaintance 
with  all  the  coins  therefore,  with  farthing,  halfpenny,  penny, 
threepenny-piece,  fourpenny-piece,  sixpenny-piece,  shilling, 
florin,  half-crown,  crown,  half-sovereign,  sovereign,  and  one- 
pound  note.  Their  forms  should  be  examined,  their  sizes, 
colors,  weights,  sounds,  and  the  stamps  upon  them ;  their 
points  of  resemblance  and  of  difference  noted,  so  that  he  may 
be  able  to  tell  them  at  once  on  seeing  them,  to  describe  them, 
or  recognize  them  on  description.  He  must  be  exercised  in 
adding,  subtracting,  etc.,  different  sums,  in  every  variety  of 
language.  And  he  should  go  through  little  processes  of  buy- 
ing and  selling  in  imagination,  in  which  he  shall  be  accus- 
tomed to  give  back  and  get  back  the  proper  amount  of 
change.  Actual  counting  and  handling  of  the  money  is  in- 
dispensable. 

129.  Number  as  applied  to  Size  (linear). — In 
appH?d  to  3S  going  through  a  parallel  process  with  this  table, 
Meas°uri.inearthe  teacher  should  have  beside  him  an  inch 
measure  and  a  three-foot  rule,  to  show  the 
foot  and  the  yard.  For  verifying  operations,  he  should 
have  twelve  inches,  some  three -inch  measures,  six  six- 
inch  measures,  and  three  foot  -  measures ;  slips  of  wood 
cut  to  the  size  will  do.  The  child  should  be  able  to  tell 
them  all  at  sight.  The  field  of  questions  on  their  relative 
size  is  very  wide,  thus :  (holding  up  foot-measure)  How 
many  of  the  smallest  measures  (inches)  in  it  ?  what  part  is 
the  inch,  then,  of  foot  ?  How  many  of  the  next  smallest 
(3-inch  measure)  in  it  ?  of  the  next  ?  How  may  it  be  made 
up  by  three  slips  (half-foot,  and  two  of  the  three-inches)  ? 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  139 

of  four  slips  ?  of  five  (6-inch,  3-inch,  and  3  inches)  ?  of 
seven  ?  In  each  case  the  process  of  comparing  should  be 
gone  through.  When  the  children  are  familiar  with  the 
measures,  things  should  actually  be  measured.  What  is  the 
breadth  of  this  book  ?  its  length  ?  its  thickness  ?  the  height 
of  this  picture  above  the  floor?  the  length  of  the  picture? 
of  the  pointer  ?  of  some  of  the  children  selected  ?  the  depth 
of  this  cup?  this  jug:  the  length,  breadth,  and  thickness  of 
this  cube  ?  the  dimensions  of  the  school-room  floor  by  ad- 
measurement ?  etc.  Draw  a  line  on  your  slates  an  inch 
long,  up  and  down  ?  the  same  even  along?  the  same  slant- 
ing ?  two  of  them  ?  six  in  order  ?  the  same  half  an  inch 
long?  alternating  an  inch  and  a  half  inch?  two  inches  long? 
alternating  two  inches  and  one  inch  ?  three  inches  ?  etc. 

130.  Number  as  applied  to   Weight. — If  the 
Number  as   spirit  of  the  previous  exercises  be  understood, 

applied  to 

Weight.  it  cannot  be  necessary  to  exhibit  the  details 
of  those  upon  weight.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
the  children  must  acquire  their  notions  of  weight  by 
weighing.  For  this  purpose,  the  teacher  should  have 
beside  him  a  pair  of  scales,  with  the  different  current 
weights,  i  Ib.  2  lb.,  |  lb.,  \  lb.,  i  oz.,  2  oz.,  i  oz.,  \  oz. ;  and 
duplicates  enough  to  show  equality,  16  oz.  for  the  lb.,  two 
i  lb.,  four  i  lb.,  two  i  oz.,  two  \  oz.,  four  J  oz.  For  weigh- 
ing, he  should  have  sand,  small  shot,  or  some  equally  con- 
venient thing;  and  he  should  also  often  weigh  common 
articles.  Let  the  questioning  be  varied  as  before. 

131.  Number  as  applied  to  Square  Measure. — 

Number  as    ,_,  . 

applied  to  1  ne  most  convenient  apparatus  is  a  diagram 
Square  is-  Qf  ^  Square  \^^  Square  foot,  and  square 
yard  on  the  school  wall,  white  lines  on  a  black 
ground  ;  the  yard  divided  into  its  nine  feet,  and  the  foot 
into  its  144  inches.  Handkerchiefs  or  towels  may  easily  ex^ 


146  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

emplify  the  yard  and  the  foot.  Any  rectangular  object  in 
the  school,  such  as  the  slate,  the  board,  the  map,  the  pic- 
ture, etc.,  are  convenient  for  this  measurement. 

132.  Number    as    applied    to    Capacity.  —  In 
applied  to  Ca-  liquid  measure,  the  gill,  the  pint,  the  quart,  the 
Timef  and      gallon  are  the  measures  to  be  shown.     In  dry 

measure,  the  peck,  the  \  peck,  and  the  J  peck 
will  suffice. 

Lastly,  Niunber  as  applied  to  Time  gives  an  important 
series  of  lessons,  though  there  cannot  be  ocular  illustration 
with  them.  Experience,  however,  makes  them  quite  intel- 
ligible ;  the  second,  the  minute,  the  hour,  the  day,  the  week, 
the  month,  the  year,  should  all  come  under  review. 

133.  The  steps  in  this  series  of  lessons  on  ap- 
ushianReduc    P^e(*  number  must  be  taken  gradually,  just  as 
tion-tabies.     the  child  can  bear  ;  each  one  being  thoroughly 

mastered  before  another  is  taken  up.  They 
afford  scope  for  all  the  fundamental  operations,  and  par- 
ticularly for  fractions.  The  reduction  -  tables  should  be 
learned  after  the  practical  exercises  in  each  kind  of 
measurement;  but  the  children,  so  far  from  finding  this 
difficult,  will  be  able  to  construct  the  tables  along  with  the 
teacher  on  the  board.* 


3.  —  On  Color  and  Form. 

134.  Color  and  Form  should  have  a  distinct 
the  Lessons  and  no  unimportant  place  assigned  to  them 
For^!°r  and  amongst  the  instruments  of  infant-school  train- 
ing. They  are  two  properties  of  bodies  the 
most  general,  and,  for  the  child,  the  most  distinctive  ;  they 
both  appeal  to  the  sight,  and  are  therefore  very  early  recog- 
nizable ;  they  occur  in  endless  varieties,  and  therefore  afford 
ample  scope  for  the  training  of  the  observation.  Lessons 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  14! 

on  Color  and  Form  are  necessary  to  enable  the  child  to 
form  correct  impressions  of  the  things  about  him.  But 
they  have  another  aspect,  the  latter  of  them  particularly. 
Color  and  Form  are  the  elements  of  representation,  pictorial 
and  linear.  An  acquaintance  with  them  is  needed,  there- 
fore, before  we  can  interpret  such  representations  ;  a  power 
of  much  consequence,  considering  the  wide  circle  of  things 
of  which  we  can  learn  only  through  representation.  Be- 
sides, the  child  is  at  a  later  period  to  be  instructed  in  cer- 
tain departments  of  the  art  of  representation,  to  wit,  draw- 
ing and  writing :  for  both  of  these  the  lesson  on  Form  is  a 
valuable  preparation. 

135.  Color  and    Form  have  been   mentioned 
Pecuiiari-     together  because  they  are  the  proper  comple- 

tiesofeach  * 

Department,  ments  of  each  other.  Their  mstrumentary  char- 
acter in  training  differs,  however,  in  these  two 
particulars :  (i)  Color,  as  a  property  of  bodies,  is  recog- 
nized before  Form.  From  experience  we  see  that  it  fixes 
the  attention  of  children  earlier  than  Form.  The  reason  is 
that  the  recognizing  of  it  is  an  exercise  of  simple  sensation 
only ;  whereas  the  recognition  of  Form  is  an  exercise  of 
complex  or  double  sensation.  Color  is  recognized  by  simple 
sight;  Form  by  sight  combined  with  motion,  the  motion 
of  the  muscles  of  the  eyeball.  Practically,  then,  we  speak 
to  infants  of  Color,  before  we  speak  to  them  of  Form.  (2) 
Though  earlier  available,  Color  is  less  useful  as  an  instru- 
ment of  training  than  Form.  The  tints  and  shades  of  Color 
are,  no  doubt,  exceedingly  numerous,  and  the  effects  pro- 
ducible by  their  combinations  are  of  inexhaustible  variety; 
but  the  child  cannot  and  need  not  notice  all  these.  It  is 
enough  if  he  can  discriminate  the  leading  species  (hues)  of 
Color  with  a  very  few  of  their  most  commonly  occurring 
modifications  as  to  tint  or  shade.  But  the  variety  of  forms 
which  he  needs  to  discriminate  are  indeed  endless;  of  the 


142  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

common  things  about  him  no  two  have  precisely  the  same 
form.  And  from  the  nature  of  the  sense  to  which  it  ap- 
peals, variety  of  form  is  easily  distinguishable  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  variety  of  tint  and  shade  in  Color. 

Color. 

136.  The  design  of  the  lessons  on  color  may 
Special  de-  be  stated   as  twofold.     It   is  (i)  to  enable  the 

Color  Lesson,  child  to  discriminate  the  commonly-occurring 
colors  ;  and  (2)  to  cultivate  his  taste,  so  far  as 
to  habituate  his  eye  to  those  combinations  of  color  that  are 
known  as  harmonious.  Any  experimenting  on  the  physical 
relations  of  colors  beyond  this,  such  as  explaining  the 
effects  of  their  admixture,  or  the  numerical  ratios  involved 
in  their  harmony,  is  quite  beside  the  mark.  We  have  not 
to  deal  with  color  as  a  science  or  as  an  art,  though  it  is  both, 
but  simply  as  a  property  of  bodies.  The  elements  of  in- 
struction are  few,  but  there  is  constant  room  for  their  appli- 
cation. 

137.  As  a  natural   order  for  the  lessons   on 
Order  in       color,  the  following  might  be  adopted  : — 

mayCbe  given.  First  Series :  On  white  and  black,  with  their 
mixture  in  gray.  White  and  black  are  not, 
properly  speaking,  colors ;  white  is  the  neutralization  of 
color,  black  is  the  absence  of  color.  They  are  the  extremes, 
however,  within  which  the  colors  lie,  and  by  which  they  are 
measured  ;  so  that  a  knowledge  of  them  is  necessary.  And 
they  first  present  themselves  to  notice  ;  light  is  represented 
by  white,  darkness  by  black,  and  by  reference  to  light  of  the 
sun  and  the  darkness  of  night  the  notion  of  white  and  black 
is  given. 

Second  Series  :  Red,  blue,  and  yellow.     These  are  the  three 
primary  colors,  so  called,  which  produce  all  other  colors  by 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  143 

composition  in  various  proportions,  but  cannot  themselves 
be  produced  by  any  composition. 

Third  Series:  Purple,  orange,  green.  These  are  the 
secondary  colors,  so  called,  produced  from  the  admixture  of 
the  primary. 

Fourth  Series :  Russet,  olive,  and  citrine.  These  are  the 
tertiary  colors,  so  called,  produced  by  admixture  of  the 
secondary,  thus — purple  and  orange  give  russet,  purple  and 
green  give  olive,  orange  and  green  give  citrine. 

Fifth  Series. — Those  now  named  are  all  the  hues  of  color  ; 
but  each  of  these  hues  has  different  tints  and  shades,  ac- 
cording as  it  is  mixed  with  white  or  black,  more  or  less. 
Thus  red  may  be  varied  into  crimson,  scarlet,  pink,  etc.; 
yellow  may  be  varied  into  lemon,  straw,  primrose,  etc.;  and 
blue  may  be  varied  into  stone,  sky,  slate,  etc. 

138.  For  giving  these  lessons  on  color,  the 
teacher  may  have  them  exhibited  on  a  board 
either  together  or  singly ;  but  the  best  possible  color-board 
is  one  made  by  himself  and  the  children  with  the  help  of 
a  box  of  paints  and  white  card.  If  he  cannot  get  a  board 
for  the  purpose,  he  may  procure  other  apparatus  in  its  stead. 
He  may  get  small  squares  sewed  with  the  different  colors 
of  worsted,  in  the  manner  of  a  sampler  ;  or  he  may  find  the 
colors  exemplified  in  the  skeins  themselves,  in  bits  of  me- 
rino, silk,  or  ribbon,  in  paper,  wafers,  glass,  etc.  After  the 
children  have  observed  any  color,  red,  for  instance,  they 
should  single  it  out  of  many  others ;  than  be  required  to 
name  things  which  show  it,  as  blood,  a  rose,  and  other 
flowers  ;  the  robin,  and  other  birds  ;  sealing-wax,  a  soldier's 
coat,  binding  of  a  book,  shawl,  hair,  etc.;  also  to  think  at 
home  of  as  many  things  as  they  can,  and  mention  them- in 
the  next  lesson.  A  color  need  not  at  this  time  be  distin- 
guished into  its  different  shades. 


144  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

139.  In  seeking  to  give  to  the  child  some  per- 
Howthe      ception  of  harmony  in  color,  whilst  he  may  be 

sense  of  Har-  ' 

mony  in  told  that  certain  colors  agree  beside  each  other, 
Educated.  °  &nd  certain  others  do  not,  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  it  is  the  eye  that  is  to  be  trained  in 
the  first  instance,  and  then  the  mind.  A  sense  of  concord 
in  music,  whether  in  melody  or  harmony,  grows  up  in  one 
after  hearing  it  exemplified  frequently;  without  this  no 
explanation  can  have  any  meaning.  So  in  color :  the  eye 
must  have  the  opportunity  of  dwelling  frequently  on  har- 
monious combinations.  When  it  is  accustomed  to  these,  it 
will  instantaneously  be  offended  by  a  combination  which  is 
not  harmonious.  The  presence  of  all  the  three  primary 
colors,  either  pure  or  in  combination,  being  required  to  pro- 
duce harmony,  it  will  be  understood  that  red  and  green 
harmonize,  as  also  yellow  and  purple,  blue  and  orange, 
green  and  russet,  orange  and  olive,  etc.  This  principle 
should  guide  teacher  and  children  in  the  combinations  they 
make  of  their  slips  of  color  in  designing  patterns.  An  eye 
familiar  with  such  juxtapositions  will  not  tolerate  such  as 
yellow  and  orange,  blue  and  purple,  red  and  orange,  blue 
and  green,  orange  and  russet,  and  the  like.* 


Form. 

140.  The  lesson  on  Form  deals  with  forms  of 
Scope"? the  a^  tne  kinds  of  dimension ;  with  those  of  one 
Lessons  in  dimension  or  lines,  those  of  two  or  plane  fig- 

rorm.  r 

ures,  and  those  of  three  or  solids.  In  each  case 
the  forms  must  be  traced,  as  exemplified  in  the  common 
things  of  life. 

straight  141-  To  commence  with  lines  :  the  following 

Lines.  diagram  represents  what  may  be  the  first  series 

of  lessons,  or  some  of  them  : — 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION. 


'45 


\\\\\\ 


The  simple  straight  line  gives  materials  for  a  large  series 
of  lessons,  as  there  are  various  ideas  to  be  developed  in  con- 
nection with  it,  viz.,  straight,  up-and-down  (perpendicular), 
even-along  (horizontal),  sloping,  equality  of  length,  equality 
of  thickness,  equality  of  width  between,  bisection,  and 
trisection. 

Combina-  142.  Combinations  of  the  straight  line  sug- 
straighft  £est  another  series  of  which  these  are  exam- 
Lines,  pies : — 


1.  f»  O.  4.  O.  O.  I.  O.  V.  1U. 

I/NAVAL  AT+h 


1L  12.  13.  14. 

Extended  by  duplication  thus  : — 
J.       2..      3.       4»          6.          6.        7.        8. 


10. 


146 


EARLY  EDUCATION. 


Plane  Fig- 
ures- 


143.  Plane  figures  may  be  grouped  according 
to  the  number  of  sides  that  constitute  them  ; 
triangles  of  various  shapes,  four-sided  figures  comprehend- 
ing the  square,  the  rectangle,  the  rhomb,  the  rhomboid,  the 
trapezium,  the  polygon,  including  the  pentagon,  hexagon, 
and  decagon  :  — 


III. 


V  W  D  D 
OO 


Inventive 
Exercises. 


144.  There  is  no  invention  exercised  in  the 
construction  of  these  forms  ;  but,  when  the  chil- 
dren have  had  some  practice  in  imitating,  they  should  be 
encouraged  to  invent,  i.e.,  to  put  together  the  elements  al- 
ready learned  into  new  patterns,  combining  line  with  line, 
or  figure  with  figure,  or  figure  with  line,  thus  : — 


IV. 


Curved 
Lines. 


145.  The  curved  lines  are  more  difficult  to 
deal  with ;  but  some  practice  must  be  given  in 
making  them  also,  since  they  occur  in  the  letters,  and  in 
many  familiar  things.  Thus  ; — 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  147 

SIMPLE    CURVES. 


O  CO 

CURVES  WITH  STRAIGHT  LINE! 


CURVES  OF  CONTRARY  FLEXURE  ALONE  A'ND  WITH  STRAIGHT  LINES 


58 


146.  The    mere    imitation    of    these  various 
Appiica-       forms  on  their  slates  interests  the  children  ;  but 

elements  t"  the  interest  is  greatly  increased  when  the  dif- 
o^Tring5'"  ferent  forms  are  applied  to  practical  purposes. 
Forms.  Thjs  appiicatiOn  is  twofold  \  (i)  to  commonly- 

occurring  forms,  (2)  to  commonly-occurring 
things.  Under  the  first  fall  the  letters  of  the  alphabet— 
both  small  and  capital,  both  in  print  and  in  script.  The 
alphabet-board  is  useful  here  and  also  the  letters  separately 
on  slips  of  mill-board  ;  but  the  teacher  should  draw  them 
on  the  black-board,  classifying  them  according  as  they  are 
straight-line  letters  or  curved  letters,  and  noticing  the  parts 
they  are  composed  of  with  reference  to  the  elements  already 
learned.  A  similar  course  should  be  followed  with  the  nu- 
merals, first  the  common  or  Arabic  characters,  then  the 
Roman. 

147.  But  the  application  to  things  is  more 
Appiica-       interesting  still,  from  the  appeal  it  makes  to 

elements  to*   their    curiosity    and     their    imagination.      All 

jccorrin17"     ^orms  from  the  veiT  simplest  may  be  found  in 

Things.  things  :    straight    lines    and    figures,   as    in    a 

pointer,  pen,  pencil,  comb,  book,  picture,  win- 


148 


EARLY  EDUCATION. 


dow-frame,  arrow,  sword,   stool,  table,  house,  castle,  box, 
star,  cross,  door,  etc.;  curves,  as  in  penny,  sixpence,  targ 
cup,   saucer,   bottle,  jug,  whip,    walking-stick,  candlestic 
extinguisher,  spire,   cart-wheel,   spinning-wheel,  knife  and 
fork,   spoon,   basket,   ship,   pillar,   chimney,   flag-and-staff, 
clock-face,  a  leaf,  an  apple,  cherry,  plate,  tub,  bell,  gun,  key, 
drum,  trumpet,  a  cheese,  a  loaf,  an  egg,  the  moon,  etc.,  etc. 
The  thing  should  be  associated  with  the  form,  and  some 
conversation  held  upon  it,  or  some  little  story  given  in  con- 
nection with  it,  whilst  the  outline  is  before  the  eye. 


Apparatus. 


148.  The  apparatus  for  the  lesson  on  form,  so 
far  as  it  has  been  described,  is  very  simple  ;  all 
that  is  indispensable  is  the  black-board  for  the  teacher,  and 
slate  and  pencil  for  the  class.  It  will  be  found  convenient 
to  have  the  slates  ruled,  not  over  their  whole  surface,  but 
partially ;  so  as  to  give  the  children  a  little  help  without 
restraining  their  freedom  of  imitation.  Perhaps  the  most 
convenient  form  of  ruling  is  this  : — 


FOR  STRAIGHT  LINES  AND  FIGURES. 


FOR  CURVES. 


On  the  one  side  the  upper  half  is  ruled,  and  a  few  points  put  on 
some  of  the  lines;  and,  on  the  reverse,  a  few  lines  ruled  for  writ- 
ing, and  the  simplest  curves  are  represented. 

It  will  contribute  very  much  to  the  regularity  and  uni- 
formity of  the  lesson,  that  the  slates  should  be  the  property 
of  the  school,  each  class  having  its  own  set  attached  to  it 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  149 

in  its  own  box.  Though  not  indispensable,  it  is  serviceable 
to  have  diagrams  of  form :  a  board,  i.e.,  on  which  the 
geometrical  forms  are  represented,  both  planes  and  solids, 
with  their  proper  shade.  Very  serviceable,  also,  is  a  num- 
ber of  slips  of  wood,  or  laths,  by  means  of  which  the  chil 
dren  can  construct  any  of  the  forms,  either  straight  lines  or 
rectilinear  figures,  which  the  teacher  draws  on  the  board. 
Thus,  all  the  examples  in  §§  141-144  may  be  exhibited,  the 
requisite  number  of  children  holding  the  laths,  in-  vertical 
lines,  in  slanting  lines,  in  even-along  lines,  in  triangles, 
rectangles,  etc.,  as  the  case  may  be. 

149.  There  are  two  senses  in  which  solids 
Solids  and  may  be  made  materials  for  lessons  on  Form, 
sentations?  According  to  the  one,  the  geometrical  solids 
are  exhibited  and  their  outlines  made  familiar,- 
this  is  of  much  service,  and  the  teacher  should  have  a  box 
of  solids  for  this  purpose,  and  a  series  of  representations  of 
them,  shaded  if  possible.  According  to  the  other,  by  the 
use  of  solids  themselves,  such  as  cubes,  parallelepipeds, 
cylinders,  cones,  pyramids,  etc.,  the  invention  is  taxed  to 
construct  different  forms.  These,  in  fact,  are  so  many 
bricks,  stones,  pillars,  towers,  arches,  etc.,  with  which  the 
child  becomes  a  builder.  Such  engagement  seems  well 
suited  for  an  individual  child  or  for  a  family,  as  it  must 
foster  the  taste,  the  imagination,  and  the  habit  of  persever- 
ance; and  it  maybe  provided  in  the  play-ground  of  the 
infant  school  (§  26). 

Form-lesson      *^0.    The     lesson     on     Form     maY    be     given 

not  a  mere      either  to  the  whole  school  collectively,  or  to 

amusement.  .  ,       , 

separate  groups,  the  latter  being  the  better  way. 
One  caution,  however,  should  be  given  :  it  must  be  viewed 
as  a  lesson,  and  not  as  a  mere  device  for  occupying  the 
children  while  the  teacher  is  otherwise  engaged.  Doubt- 


150  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

less,  it  may  be  made  very  interesting  and  amusing ;  never- 
theless it  is  instruction  proceeding  upon  a  principle,  in 
systematic  order,  and  with  a  view  to  the  attainment  of 
certain  results.  The  teacher  must  bestow  some  fore- 
thought, therefore,  on  its  arrangement,  and  exercise  ade- 
quate superintendence  over  the  class  engaged  in  it.* 

Example  of 

?n  Steven*  15L-  Subjoined  are  examples  of  the  lesson  on 
up-and-down  Form  in  different  stages : — 

(perpendicu- 
lar)  line. 

I.  On  the  Perpendicular  Line. 

1.  Teacher  holds  in  his  hand  (suppose)  a  bit  of  string, 
stretched  by  some  object  attached  to  its  other  end  ;  children 
notice  its  appearance ;  teacher  then  holds  in  his  hand  a  bit 
of  string  which  is  curled  and   twisted,  from  having  been 
rolled   round   something ;   children  notice  the   difference ; 
the  one  even  or  straight,  the  other  not. 

The  teacher  similarly  contrasts  the  pointer  with  a  walk- 
ing-stick or  cane  ;  also,  a  straight  lath  with  a  slightly-bent 
one. 

2.  Again,  the  teacher  holds  in  his  hand  the  straightened 
cord,  (i)  perpendicularly,  (2)  slantingly,  and   the  children 
notice  the  difference ;  the  pointer,  stick,  lath,  etc.,  held  (i) 
perpendicularly,  (2)  slantingly.     This  will  give  the  further 
notion  of  even-up-and-down  ;  which  word  may  be  used  for  a 
while  instead  of  perpendicular. 

3.  Teacher   asks   them   to  watch   him   as  he   draws  an 
even-up-and-down  line  on  the  board  ;  they  follow  with  the 
eye;    he    asks    how   it    was    done;    examines  whether    it 
is  straight — whether   it   is   even- up-and-down  ;    places   the 
pointer  or  lath  along  it,  and  they  see  it  is.     Would  this 

do?     /        Why  not?     This?      /         Why  not?     This?! 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  151 

Why  ?  Who  can  draw  one  on  his  own  slate?  All  draw 
one  ;  teacher  looks  and  criticises  a  little. 

4.  Teacher  asks  for  any  common  things  in  shape  of  an 
even-up-and-down  line.     A  pointer   held  up  ;  that  is  de- 
signed for  —     —  ?     A  ruler  ;  that  is  —    —  .     A  flag-staff  ; 
that  is  for  --  ?  A  mast  of  a  ship  ;  that  is  for  -  ? 
Some  trees,  which  grow  in  the  -  ? 

5.  They  then   draw  on   their  slates  a  number  of  these 
even-up-and-down  lines. 

NOTE.  —  One  idea  is  enough  in  one  lesson.  Here  it  is  the 
idea  of  even-up-and-down.  The  children  need  not  at  pres- 
ent attend  to  the  distances  of  the  lines  from  each*  other, 
when  they  make  a  number.  —  Another  lesson  similarly  illus- 
trated would  be  given  to  the  slanting  line  to  the  right, 
another  to  the  slanting  line  to  the  left,  another  to  the  even- 
along  (or  horizontal)  line.  So  a  distinct  lesson  would  be 
given  to  equality  in  length,  equality  in  thickness,  equality 
in  slope,  and  equality  in  width,  thus  :  — 


II.  Equal  Width  or  Distances. 

Example  of 
Lesson  on 

'        152- 


equal  distan- 
ces. 

1.  Count  how  many  lines  are  there  ;  what  kind  of  lines  ? 
Would  this  be  the  same  ?        /       Why  not.     What  is  be- 

tween every  two  lines  ?     A   space.     How  many  spaces  are 
there  ?     If  I  draw  another  line,  how  many  lines  ?  spaces  ? 

2.  Teacher  tells  them  to  notice  that  spaces  are  of  same 
width  —  measures  them   before   the   class.      If    I   want  all 

spaces  to  be  the  same,  then,   would  this  do? 

Why  not  ?    How  do  you  know  ?    You  don't  need  to  measure 


152  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

that,  you  see  it.  Now,  make  three  even-up-and-down  lines 
yourselves  on  your  slates.  They  draw  three,  and  the 
teacher  criticises  a  little. 

3.  Think  of  any  things  we  could  get  to  show  even-up- 
and-down  lines  with  same  width  between  them.     We  could 
do  it  with  fingers — three  children  hold  one  finger  each  to- 
gether— with  arms  in  same  way — with  pointers  or  laths — 
some  are  called  on  to  put  these  in  position.     Another  thing 
yet   in  the   school  which   shows  them  ?     The   ball-frame. 
Count  the  wires  and  the  spaces. 

.     Anything  not  in  school  which  shows  even-up-and-down 

lines  at   equal    distances?     A   railing,   which   is   made   of 

—  ?  and  is  used  for —    — ?     A  bird's  cage,  which  is 

made  of ?  and  is  used  for ?     Grating  in  some 

windows,  which  is  made  for ? 

4.  Now  make  some  rows  of  even-up-and-down  lines  on 
your  slates. 


III.  On  the  Oblong  or  Rectangle. 

Example  of 
Lesson  on  a 

HnTrfg^S*    153-  Teacher  draws   it  by  degrees,    thus: 

the  Rect- 
angle. 

What  is  this?     An  even-up-and-down   line. — 


L 


What   is   added   here  ? — and   here  ? 


and  here?  Another  way  of  making   it—  What  are 


these  ? 


Two  even-up-and-down  lines  of  same  length. 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  153 


Join  them.  How  many  lines  in  all  ?  how  many  kinds  ? 

how  many  of  each  kind  ?  Are  they  separate  ?  how  many 
corners  ?  What  is  within  the  lines  ?  a  space  ?  Are  the 
lines  of  same  length  ?  any  two  of  them — teacher  measures 
them — pupils  draw  one  for  themselves,  and  teacher  criticises 
a  little. 

2.  Name   anything  you  know  which  is   drawn   by  four 

lines  in  this  way— a  slate,  which  is  for ?  a  black-board, 

which  is  for ?  a  map,  which  is  for ?  the  ball-frame, 

which  is  for ?  a  book,  which  is  for ?    Count  all  the 

sides  in  these.    Also  a  window,  which  is  for ?  the  door, 

which  is  for ?  a  sheet  of  paper,  which  is  for ?  etc. 

3.  The  pupils  proceed  to  draw  figures  for  themselves,  the 
teacher  giving  them  directions  how  to  use  the  lines  ruled 
on  their  slates,  and  the  points  indicated  on  them. 


IV.  On  the  Circle. 


o 


154.  Teacher    holds   up  a    penny,   sixpence, 
Example  of  etc. — gets    the     shapes    named    successively — 

Lesson  on  the 

plane  curve-   holds  up  a  circle  cut  in  paper — another  shape 
The  Circle*!"  more  or  less  nearly  circular — children  observe 
difference. 

2.  Teacher  draws  on  board  a  figure  nearly  circular — then 
a  circle,  the  children  following  the  chalk — teacher  takes  a 
line  and  measures  across  the  centre-point,  and  shows  the 
children  how  this  is  always  the  same — draws  a  few  such 
lines  (or  diameters)  through  the  circle — then  through  the 
other  nearly  circular  figure,  and  children  observe  the  differ- 
ence.    They  draw  one  on  their  slates. 

3.  Things  named  which  are  round  :  various  coins ;  cart- 


1^4  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

wheel,  used  for ?  and  which  well  illustrates  the  circle  ; 

a  cheese,  for ?  a  chimney,  for ?  a  hoop,  for ? 

the  sun,  which ?  etc. 

4.  Children  then  proceed  to  construct  several  on  their 
slates. 

NOTE. — Lessons  on  the  forms  of  solids  are  the  most  ad- 
vanced of  which  they  are  capable,  and  differ  from  the  pre- 
ceding lessons  in  this  particular,  that  they  are  not  fully  or 
not  at  all  within  the  child's  power  of  drawing.  But  he 
should  be  taught  to  recognize  the  forms  of  all  the  solids 
when  he  sees  them  drawn ;  which  he  cannot  do  till  his  eye 
is  educated.  With  this  view  lessons  should  be  given  on 
each  of  the  solids ;  as  the  cube,  prism,  pyramid,  cone,  etc. 
Subjoined  is  the  example  of  a  lesson. 

V.  On  the  Cylinder. 

155.  To  give  a  general  notion  of  its  form, 
L?sso™Sne  °f  teacher  holds  it  in  his  hand  before  the  class— 
c°iind77he  turns  it  on  its  axis  vertically — the  same  hori- 
zontally— rolls  it.  It  is  round — holds  its  end 
towards  the  class — they  recognize  the  circle — two  ends  and 
surface — teacher  sets  it  on  end — children  name  anyth ing- 
correspond  ing  in  form,  as  a  pillar — lays  it  down — children 
name  something  corresponding  to  it  in  outline,  as  a  roller. 
Length  varies ;  to  show  which  it  should  be  cut  parallel  to 
its  end  in  one  or  two  places. 

2.  To  explain  its  form  in  the  drawing  before  the  class,  it 
being  drawn  on  end.     Teacher  places  it  on  end — chil- 
dren trace  its  outline — its  round  front,  how  much  of 

it  seen  ? — the  two  vertical  lines  that  bound  its  front  t — J 
— part  of  its  base  line — its  top,  not  quite  circular  in  appear- 
ance— all  these  lines  actually  traced — teacher  draws  it,  or 
points  to  drawing — children  trace  the  corresponding  lines. 

3.  Children  name  a  number  of  things  cylindrical  in  shape, 
.o  see  that  it  is  a  common  form — pillar,  roller  or  baton,  tin 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  155 

box,  a  tree  so  far,  a  map  or  sheet  of  paper  rolled  up,  a 
pitcher,  a  hat  so  far,  etc. 

4.  Children  imitate  cylinder  on  their  slates. 

NOTE. — If  the  drawing  before  the  class  be  shaded,  this, 
must  be  explained  by  reference  to  their  experience.  They 
observe  things  casting  shadows,  men,  pillars,  trees,  etc.; 
thus  they  will  understand  on  what  side  the  shade  should 
be.  The  drawing  of  a  cylinder  in  other  positions  should 
be  deferred  to  other  lessons. 


,  4.  On  Singing. 

Necessity  156.  Singing  is  absolutely  indispensable  in 
hi  the^'n&nt  the  infant  school.  The  child  is  naturally  sensi- 
tive to  sweet  sounds.  The  mother  sings  to  her 
child  to  soothe  its  sorrows  and  enliven  its  joys.  The  child 
sings  to  itself ;  almost  unconsciously  indeed.  If  it  be  not 
in  possession  of  any  melody,  it  will  yet  put  sounds  together  ; 
if  it  have  learnt  a  melody,  it  will  often  be  heard  rehearsing 
it.  Singing  is  a  vehicle  by  which  it  expresses  its  feelings  ; 
producing  an  effect  on  the  child  which  is  keenly  pleasura- 
ble at  the  moment,  and  which  leaves  him  in  a  calm,  pleased 
state.  Every  one  who  has  seen  the  cordiality  and  unanim- 
ity with  which  children  break  out  into  a  simple  melody 
after  some  stretch  of  attention  will  understand  the  promi- 
nence we  assign  to  singing.  It  is  in  infancy  that  the  taste 
for  singing  must  be  founded  ;  the  period  invites  us  to  do 
so ;  if  we  neglect  to  cultivate  it  then,  the  inspiring  of  it 
will  be  a  work  of  more  difficulty  at  any  future  time. 

157.  In  the  infant  school  singing  should   be 

Extent  to  ,  ,  01  ...     . 

which  it         taught   by  ear  and   not   from    note.     Skill    in 
carried!36        music   certainly  implies  the  power  of   reading 
from   note,  and   an    acquaintance  with    gram- 
matical structure.     But  the  study  necessary  to  acquire  this 


156  EARLY  EDUCATION.' 

skill  must  be  deferred  till  a  later  date.  It  will  equally  per- 
plex and  repel  the  child  at  this  stage.  If  we  give  him  a 
taste  for  music  by  accustoming  him  early  to  its  beautiful 
effects,  he  will  be  allured  to  the  study  in  due  time.  At 
present,  therefore,  he  learns  his  melodies  by  listening  to 
and  following  his  teacher's  voice. 

158.  With  regard  to  style  of  music,  there  are 
style  of  several  kinds  of  errors  made.  A  very  common 
Music  suit-  one  jg  the  exciusive,  or  almost  exclusive,  use  of 
sacred  music,  perhaps  even  of  psalmody.  One 
of  the  ends— we  may  say  the  highest  end — of  learning  to 
sing,  is  certainly  to  sing  for  devotional  purposes  ;  and  the 
child,  too,  must  use  his  gift  of  song  in  solemn  worship.  But 
while  he  must  know  some  sacred  songs,  it  does  not  suit  the 
character  of  his  own  mind  or  of  the  music  itself  that  he 
should  be  always  engaged  with  this  style.  He  must  have 
the  means  of  expressing  the  ordinary  joyousness  of  his 
years  ;  which  is  found  in  secular  melody  alone.  Since  the 
child  sings  from  lightness  of  heart,  he  should  be  taught 
lively  songs.  The  graver  rhythms  are  unsuitable  for  him  ; 
and  the  use  of  the  minor  mode  is  a  gross  incongruity  in  the 
infant  school. 

159.  To  describe  suitable  melodies  more 
is§csaofCine-r"  minutely  : — They  should  preserve  a  medium  in 
Music°h001  respect  of  pitch,  ranging  between  the  notes  D 
(below  the  first  line)  and  E  (fourth  space)  on 
the  treble  staff,  since  the  voices  of  the  children  are  ten- 
der, and  liable  to  suffer  from  straining ;  the  intervals  be- 
tween the  notes  should  be  of  the  simplest  kind,  viz.,  dia- 
tonic and  common-chord,  modulation  from  one  key  into 
another  being,  as  a  rule,  avoided  ;  the  rhythm  should  be 
simple  and  well  marked,  such  as  f ,  f,  and  f,  and  then  -*- 
and  f . 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  l'S7 

160.  Singing  in  two  parts  or  more  should  not 
Tw^KSs.0    be  Passed  on  too  hastily.    The  more  advanced 

children  may  be  taught  to  sing  a  second  part, 
but  it  is  not  necessary  ;  simple  melody  is  attractive  enough 
to  attain  all  the  ends  of  the  exercise.  The  teacher  may 
sing  a  second  part  at  pleasure  as  accompaniment. 

161.  The  difficulty  in  finding  suitable  sonars 

The  kind  of  ..  f 

Verses  suit-  lies  as  much  m  the  words  to  be  sung  as  m  the 
fnge  f°r  Sing"  tune  itself-  Verses  of  a  purely  didactic  char- 
acter, or  which  are  filled  with  abstract  sayings, 
are  not  suitable.  Still  worse  are  rhymes  of  a  professedly 
utilitarian  kind,  arithmetical  or  geographical  tables,  and 
the  like.  Speaking  generally,  whatever  carries  the  child's 
thoughts  to  the  objects  that  he  naturally  finds  pleasure  in 
is  suitable,  so  far  as  matter  is  concerned.  Pieces  on 
beautiful  natural  appearances,  on  natural  objects,  on  ani- 
mals, or  stories  in  the  ballad  style,  may  safely  be  used,  pro- 
vided their  language  be  simple  and  their  sentiment  correct. 

Tasteful  162.  The  singing,  if  it  is  to  cultivate  the  taste, 

Smgmg.  must  be  done  tastefully.  The  children  may  not 
sing  artistically,  but  they  may  be  expected  to  sing  in  tune 
without  shouting,  and  with  becoming  light  and  shade  in 
expression.  If  there  be  a  child  who  seems  unable  to  keep 
in  tune  with  the  rest,  i.e.,  whose  ear  requires  more  exer- 
cise in  tune  than  the  average,  he  should  keep  silence  dur- 
ing the  singing  till  he  has  attained  sufficient  cultivation 
to  join  in  it,  and  not  be  allowed  to  mar  the  singing  of 
the  others. 

For  singing,  in  its  bearing  on  discipline,  see  §  100. 

A  selection  of  suitable  songs  and  melodies  is  given  in 
Appendix  D. 


158  EARLY  EDUCATION. 


5.    On  Geography. 

163.  Geography  is  one  of  the  natural  sciences, 
Explanation  having    for    its    subject-matter    not     ideas,  or 

of  Geog^ap^y  symbols,  or  formulae,  but  things.  On  this  ac- 
ScSooh"*  count  it  was  introduced  not  very  long  since 
into  the  course  of  school-studies.  It  was  de- 
signed as  a  counterpoise  to  the  too  exclusively  verbal  and 
abstract  character  of  that  course.  It  has  not,  for  the  most 
part,  been  taught  in  such  a  way  as  to  serve  the  ends  o* 
its  introduction,  having  been  greatly  confined  to  what  is 
really  an  abstract  study,  the  study  of  the  position  of  places 
on  the  map.  It  should  be  well  understood  that  geogra- 
phy, viewed  educationally,  is  a  study  of  things.  If  this  its 
true  character  be  preserved,  it  will  readily  be  seen  that 
there  is  an  aspect  of  it  in  which  it  is  fit  to  be  handled 
in  the  infant  school.  It  were  to  be  wished  that  there 
were  a  more  familiar  name  to  give  to  the  study  in  this 
stage.  The  name  "  Geography "  is  too  scientific.  The 
lessons  contemplated  in  it  really  fall  under  the  object- 
lesson.  They  are  a  series  of  object-lessons  on  the  earth, 
with  its  more  striking  external  aspects,  its  products  and 
occupiers;  and  we  treat  of  them  separately  from  the  ob- 
ject-lesson in  general,  only  because  they  are  the  germ  of 
what  in  the  subsequent  stages  of  the  child's  progress  is 
recognized  as  a  distinct  and  important  branch  of  study. 

164.  Map-geography,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of 

Error  most  ,    .  -     .  ,        ,     .        .     - 

frequently  the  word,  is  no  part  of  the  work  of  the  infant 
school.  It  is  very  common  to  begin  geogra- 
phy by  setting  before  the  class — after  telling  them  what 
the  shape  of  the  earth  is,  and  what  a  map  is  meant  to  be 
— a  map  of  Europe  ;  and  to  give  them  the  names  of  the 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  159 

countries,  mountains,  rivers,  bays,  islands,  straits,  towns, 
etc.  But  this  is  altogether  an  anticipation  of  the  work  of 
the  upper  school.  In  the  infant  school  it  gives  a  certain 
knowledge  of  the  piece  of  paper  before  them  called  a 
map;  but  as  the  children  can  comprehend  neither  what  a 
map  is,  nor  what  it  is  for,  it  gives  them  no  real  instruc- 
tion whatever.  It  is  to  no  purpose  that  it  be  made  sim- 
ple or  even  amusing  by  the  teacher's  ingenuity,  and  that 
the  children  become  actually  expert  in  naming  the  places 
pointed  out.  The  work  itself  is  not  that  which  should 
be  engaging  their  attention.  They  cannot  at  this  stage 
realize  the  "  geography  of  locality  or  relative  position." 

165.  The    geography    of    the    infant    school 

Nature  of         ,         ,.     ,  •  •    i  j     j  ••  ^ 

the  infant  should  be  pictorial  and  descriptive.  Com- 
?aphy!  Ge°g"  mencing  with  the  elements  of  natural  scenery 
that  fall  under  the  child's  observation,  and 
carefully  noting  their  distance  and  relative  direction  from 
the  school  and  from  each  other — the  hill,  the  mountain, 
the  brook,  the  river,  the  plain,  the  forest,  the  moor,  the 
rich  mould,  the  island,  the  sea,  the  cliff,  the  cape,  the 
castle,  the  village,  the  city,  that  may  be  seen  in  prospect 
from  the  school ;  the  productions  of  his  own  land — its 
animals,  its  trees,  and  flowers,  and  herbs,  its  metals ;  the 
men  of  his  own  land — their  occupations,  their  customs, 
their  habits,  their  food,  their  clothing ;  it  should  seek  to 
make  the  child  realize  the  corresponding  features  of  other 
lands  and  climes  by  comparison  with  what  it  has  observed 
in  its  own.  We  should  ever  set  before  his  eye,  when 
possible,  specimens  and  pictures  of  foreign  products  and 
scenes,  and  for  the  rest  appeal  to  his  imagination  to  take 
off  the  impressions  from  our  vivid  descriptions.  Such  is 
an  outline  in  brief  of  the  course  the  instruction  should 
follow, 


160  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

166.  Examples  of  subjects  of  lessons  in  Home- 
Richness  of  Geography. — Let  the  subject  be  "  rivers"    What 

its  Materials  ...  . 

exemplified,  a  variety  of  instructive  matter  is  suggested  by 
it! — their  source  in  the  little  springs  welling 
forth  amongst  the  hills  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth — the 
descent  of  the  many  small  rills  from  the  mountain  side 
to  the  valley — the  length,  depth,  and  gradual  increase  of 
the  main  stream — the  influence  of  the  season  of  the  year 
upon  them — the  smooth,  clear,  low  water  in  summer,  and 
the  dark,  swollen,  angry  torrent  in  winter — the  character 
of  the  land  through  ^which  they  flow  for  fertility — the  uses 
to  which  man  puts  rivulets  and  rivers — the  one  a  source 
of  power  for  industrial  purposes,  the  other  the  highways 
of  commerce  and  of  travelling,  both  adding  to  the  riches 
and  civilization  of  a  people.  All  these  considerations  are 
involved  in  the  idea  of  "  river  ;"  and  there  are  few  of  them 
that  could  not  be  illustrated  by  reference  to  the  brook  that 
may  pass  the  school  or  the  river  that  may  flow  through  the 
city. 

Let  the  subject  be  "  mountains"  There  may  be  some 
hill  near  the  school  which  the  children  may  have  beguiled 
a  summer's  day  in  climbing.  They  are  to  observe  its 
shape — whether  it  be  broad  and  flat,  or  steep,  and  in  part 
precipitous — whether  it  be  a  single  hill,  or  one  of  a  range 
— the  matter  of  which  its  surface  is  composed,  whether 
earth  or  rock  in  any  of  its  forms — the  covering  of  its  sur- 
face, whether  grass,  or  heather,  or  shrubs — the  animals  that 
may  be  browsing  on  its  slopes — the  streams  which  may 
leap  down  its  sides — the  climate  varying  with  the  height 
till  they  reach  the  cool  of  the  summit — the  corn-fields  at 
its  base,  extending  more  or  less  up  the  slope — then  the 
woods,  and,  lastly,  the  grass — the  toilsomeness  of  the  as- 
scent,  and  the  time  required  for  it — and,  perhaps,  the  metals 
or  minerals  dug  out  from  it. 

JL,et  the  subject  be  one  of  the  phenomena   of  "  climate" — * 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  l6l 

On  a  "  winter 's  day1  let  them  observe  the  thick  flakes  of 
the  falling  snow,  whitening  the  face  of  nature,  or  the  hard- 
ening influence  of  the  clear  frost  covering  our  lakes,  ponds, 
and  roads  with  ice — the  rapid  motion  and  the  thick  cover- 
ing necessary  for  comfort — the  fires  we  need  in  our  houses 
— the  care  we  need  to  take  of  our  animals — the  unproduc- 
tiveness and  barrenness  of  nature  at  the  time — the  short 
day  and  the  long  night.  On  a  "  summer' s  day"  again,  the 
mild  air — the  clear,  blue  sky — the  moderate  motion  and 
the  lighter  clothing — the  face  of  nature  beaming  with  ani- 
mal life,  and  clothed  with  the  rich  vegetable  green — the 
treasures  in  the  fields — the  long  day  and  the  short  night. 

In  these  lessons  on  geography,  scientific  order  is  of  little 
consequence.  The  true  point  of  commencement  is  with 
what  the  children  see  and  know.  Thus,  if  we  give  a  lesson 
on  "  rivers,"  we  just  take  them  in  imagination  to  the  river- 
side, and  exercise  their  senses  on  what  is  before  them.  The 
river  is  (suppose)  broad,  deep  in  the  middle,  shelving,  clear 
or  brown,  smooth  or  broken  in  surface  ;  its  banks  are  peb- 
bly, or  rocky,  or  grassy,  and  so  on.  For  the  next  lesson, 
we  take  them  to  a  spot  further  up  where  different  phe- 
nomena are  seen,  and  then  further  up  still  to  its  source  ; 
next  take  them  down  the  river  till  they  come  to  the  point 
at  which  it  falls  into  the  sea,  or  into  some  other  river. 
Proceed  in  the  same  spirit,  and  by  similar  subdivisions,  with 
mountains,  matters  of  climate,  etc.,  constructing  the  lessons 
entirely  after  the  manner  of  the  object-lesson,  as  exempli- 
fied in  §§  HO-II2. 

167.  It  is  when  these  and  a  series  of  such 

its  imagina-  minute  pictures  of  "  home"  are  conceived,  that 

parCaUve  AS™    t*ie  child's  imagination  can  take  wings  to  other 

Pect-  lands.     He  can  expand  the  idea  of  the  river  at 

home  till  it  reaches  the  Rhine,  or  the  Nile,  or 

the  Mississippi,  or  the  Amazon,  and  the  circumstances  of  the 


162  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

one  till  they  pass  into  those  of  the  others;  the  mountain 
at  home  till  he  shall  see  the  Alps,  with  their  fertile  valleys 
and  lower  slopes,  and  their  woods  above,  reaching  upwards 
to  the  everlasting  snow  ;  or  till  he  shall  conceive  Etna  with 
its  teeming  sides  and  magnificent  prospects  and  the  smoke 
rising  from  its  volcano  top.  From  the  "  winter's  day"  at 
home  he  may  realize  the  dreary  desolation  of  the  Arctic 
zone,  with  its  freezing  temperature,  its  wilderness  of  ice, 
its  stunted  vegetation,  its  dearth  of  animal  life,  its  short, 
cheerless  days,  and  its  humble  fur-  or  skin-clad  dwellers ; 
and  the  "  summer's  day"  at  home  may  lead  him  to  fancy 
himself  beneath  the  scorching  blue  sky  of  the  tropics,  with 
the  want  of  rain,  the  rapid  and  abundant  growth  of  plants 
and  animals,  the  overpowering  heat  of  day  and  the  dews 
of  night,  the  jungle  or  the  desert. 

168.  In  this   series   of  lessons  the   names  of 
How  far       countries  are  sparingly  dealt  with,  a  few  typi- 

fhr°J1edr^amescal  ones  alone  being  given  :  typical,  i.e.,  of  the 
given.  different  climates,  but  without  map  in  the  mean- 

time. And  it  will  be  observed  that  the  lessons 
are  not  expressly  given  on  particular  countries,  as  Egypt, 
or  Arabia,  or  Lapland.  A  country  is  too  vague,  an  idea  for 
a  child  at  this  time;  he  must  have  some  definite  object  on 
which  to  rest  his  conceptions.  Hence,  the  series  is  given 
on  natural  features,  of  which  he  can  see  certain  examples 
around  him,  and  these  are  stated  as  being  in  particular 
climates  or  countries.  He  associates  the  country  with  the 
object,  not  the  object  with  the  country.  And  the  same 
holds  in  the  series  as  now  to  be  continued. 

169.  To  have  the  means  of  describing  the 
cMilTai^this    Different  regions  of  the  earth  more  particularly, 
period  identi-  the  teacher  should   proceed   with  a  series  of 
countries?1      object-lessons  on  their  productions.     Thus,  the 

lion,  elephant,  camel,  tiger,  wolf,  bear,  hyena, 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  163 

kangaroo,  buffalo,  reindeer,  dog,  sloth,  serpent,  whale,  shark, 
eagle,  vulture,  ostrich,  etc.,  are  for  geographical  purposes 
so  many  types.  So  in  the  vegetable  world  are  the  palm, 
the  olive,  the  bread-fruit,  the  vine,  the  cotton-plant,  the 
tea-plant,  the  coffee-plant,  the  sugar-cane,  rice,  maize,  cin- 
namon, cedar,  mahogany,  and  the  like.  So  with  respect  to 
>  man  and  his  habits  would  be  a  series  on  the  articles  of 
food,  clothing,  and  building.  In  the  course  of  these  lessons 
some  of  the  principal  countries — not  every  country — would 
have  been  noticed  so  frequently,  that  the  children  must 
have  accumulated  a  number  of  ideas  regarding  each. 

170.  During  this  course  of  instruction,  the 
fof  ?he  (Seog-  only  maps  used  are  pictures— pictures  of  objects 
fesson  such  as  have  been  alluded  to  under  the  object- 

lesson,  and  pictures  of  scenes  typical  of  coun- 
tries. It  is  much  to  be  wished  that  this  latter  kind  of 
pictures  were  greatly  more  numerous  and  accessible  for 
schools  than  they  are.  Thus  the  map  of  Arabia  for  the 
infant  school  should  be  a  desert  scene,  exhibiting  the  gen- 
eral features  of  the  desert  and  the  sky,  the  caravan  in 
whole,  the  camel  as  an  animal,  and  the  Arab  himself  in  his 
usual  costume.  On  the  same  principle  should  we  have 
Egypt  represented  by  its  river  and  its  pyramids;  India  by 
its  rice-fields,  its  jungles  with  their  fierce  inhabitants,  its 
mountain-passes  with  their  elephant  trains ;  China  by  its 
tea-plantations ;  Australia  by  its  bush  with  the  native  and 
the  kangaroo ;  the  South  Sea  Islands  by  an  assembly  of 
natives  on  land  or  in  their  canoes ;  South  America  by  its 
forests  and  its  pampas  ;  North  America  by  its  cotton-fields 
and  its  sugar-fields  ;  the  Indian  territory  by  its  prairies  and 
buffaloes ;  the  Esquimau  by  his  sledge  and  dogs ;  Turkey 
by  its  mosque  and  worshippers  ;  Spain  by  its  wild  moun- 
tain-pass and  picturesque  traveller ;  Switzerland  by  its 


164  EARLY  EDUCATION: 

jagged  peaks  and  cnamois-hunter ;  Italy  and  Greece  by 
their  ruins ;  Lapland  by  its  reindeer  and  sledge ;  and,  to 
come  to  our  own  country,  Britain  by  its  several  scenes  of 
the  river  crowded  with  shipping,  of  the  busy  factory,  of 
pastoral  and  agricultural  life,  and  of  the  hills  of  the  north 
and  west,  with  the  sheep  and  the  deer  and  the  birds  that 
occupy  them. 

171.  The  geography  of  the   infant-school   is 
Connection  thus  a  series  of  obiect-lessons  connected  by  a 

of  the  Infant-  J 

School  Geog-  geographical   link.      It  but   prepares  materials 

raphy  with       7      ?.        ,  ,  ,         ,-  ,  T 

that  of  the  for  the  formal  study  of  geography.  It  maybe 
School!6  thought  that  the  use  of  the  map  would  facili- 
tate the  instruction  ;  but  it  is  quite  immaterial 
whether  the  map  be  in  the  school  at  all  or  not.  It  is  the 
business  of  the  next  stage  of  progress  to  "  localize"  all  that 
has  fceen  learned  ;  which  it  does  by  going  regularly  over 
the  map,  and  fixing  down  in  position  the  countries  which 
as  yet  are  only  names  to  the  children.  The  utmost  use 
of  the  map  that  should  be  made  in  the  infant  school  is 
to  go  over  with  the  elder  infants,  if  time  permit  at  the 
end  of  their  course,  on  a  physical  map  of  the  world  dis- 
tinctly outlined  so  as  to  show  the  features  of  districts,  the 
general  outline  of  what  they  have  already  learned — showing 
the  position  of  the  different  countries  with  whose  names 
they  are  familiar,  collecting  all  their  knowledge  regarding 
each,  and  explaining  how  the  directions  of  north,  south, 
east,  and  west,  which  they  have  already  learned  from  ob- 
servation of  the  sun's  course,  and  which  they  have  been 
taught  to  apply  to  the  whole  district  about  them  over  which 
their  eye  can  reach,  are  exhibited  on  the  map.* 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  165 


6.  On  Beading  to  the  Children. 

172.  Reading  to  the  children  is  an  important 
utility  of  resource  of  the  infant-school  teacher.  Consid- 
of  Reading°to  ermg  tne  universality  of  this  practice  in  infant 
Children.  family  training,  it  is  singular  that  it  should  have 
been  so  much  neglected  in  school.  The  benefit 
of  it  seems  clear  and  indisputable,  in  the  one  case  as  in  the 
other.  It  is  not  for  the  sake  of  any  instruction  conveyed 
by  it  that  we  recommend  this  practice ;  the  child  receives 
his  instruction  otherwise.  But  two  advantages  flow  from 
it,  which  are  very  apparent.  The  first  is  the  stimulus  which 
it  gives  the  children  to  learn  to  read  for  themselves  :  and 
this  is  peculiar  to  reading  to  them  as  distinct  from  address- 
ing them  in  words  of  our  own.  Let  the  teacher  avowedly 
read  before  them  ;  let  him  manage  it  so  as  to  interest  them 
in  what  he  reads  ;  let  him  cluster  pleasant  associations 
around  the  book  ;  let  him  show  them  how  he  knows  the 
stories  only  by  reading,  and  how  they  must  learn  to  read 
for  themselves  to  know  the  stories  recorded  in  books  ;  let 
him,  in  a  word,  be  thus  constantly  showing  them,  directly 
and  indirectly,  what  a  pleasant  thing  it  is  to  be  able  to 
read,  and  there  is  certainly  present  to  their  minds  a  stimulus 
to  exertion,  a  motive  of  a  noble  sort  or  the  germ  of  one, 
the  love  of  knowledge  for  its  own  sake.  The  second  advan- 
tage is  the  culture  it  imparts  to  them — culture  of  the  im- 
agination and  of  the  heart,  for  it  is  to  these  the  reading 
should  appeal.  Direct  address,  or  the  relating  of  stories, 
may  attain  the  same  end  ;  but,  even  if  all  teachers  had  the 
power  of  vivid  description  and  picturesque  narrative,  which 
they  have  not,  their  resources  are  greatly  extended  by  the 
use  of  the  book.  It  presents  them  with  an  indefinite  range 
of  beautiful  icieas,  clothed  in  a  fair  and  ample  drapery  of 


1  66  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

words.  These  have  a  permanent  existence  withal,  and  may 
be  read  again  and  again,  affording  to  the  child  renewed 
pleasure  at  every  repetition.  Reading  to  the  children, 
moreover,  supposing  it  conducted  in  a  way  to  interest  them, 
accustoms  them  to  close  and  self-sustaining  attention. 

173.  The  greatest  obstacle  to  the  practice  of 
istics  of      "   reading  is  one  of  a  practical   kind  ;  the   diffi- 


culty  of  procuring  suitable  books  to  read  from. 

To  set  forth  all  the  characteristics  of  a  child's 
book  would  be  to  recapitulate  much  of  what  has  been  said 
in  the  former  part  of  this  treatise  ;  but  the  teacher  may 
be  aided  in  his  judgment  by  bearing  the  following  cautions 
in  mind  :  (i)  The  subject  of  it  must  be  a  story,  of  which 
the  interest  centres  distinctly  on  a  person,  or  on  some 
object  actually  or  virtually  personified.  Science  and  history, 
therefore,  however  much  simplified  and  garnished,  are  from 
their  very  nature  unsuitable  ;  the  one  being  too  abstract,  the 
other  too  complex.  (2)  The  book  must  appeal  to  the 
imagination,  and  not  merely  to  the  reason  or  understand- 
ing. A  cold,  didactic  style,  however  clear,  has  no  attrac- 
tions for  children.  (3)  In  speaking  to  the  feelings  the 
book  must  not  assume  too  great  a  degree  of  self-conscious- 
ness in  the  children.  Some  otherwise  suitable  books  are 
spoilt  by  a  perpetual  moralizing  in  set  terms,  and  calling 
for  reflections  of  a  nature  quite  beyond  the  children  to 
make  ;  forgetting  that  the  morality  should  be  inwoven  into 
the  entire  web  of  the  narrative,  and  that  they  imbibe  the 
impression  of  it  in  silently  identifying  themselves  with  a 
personage  whose  sentiments  and  actions  are  moral.  (4) 
In  teaching  morality  the  book  must  be  careful  to  base  it  on 
a  sure  foundation,  A  false  morality  is  a  dangerous,  yet 
very  common,  fault  in  a  child's  book.  Virtue  is  very  fre- 
quently associated  with  personal  and  temporal  advantage,  as 
when  "  getting  on  in  the  world"  is  made  the  basis  for  incul- 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  167 

eating  truthfulness  and  honesty ;  and  vice  is  frequently 
condemned  on  the  ground  of  personal  and  temporal  disad- 
vantage alone.  If  virtue  and  vice  be  grounded  on  no  deeper 
basis,  the  child's  morality  must  in  course  of  time  be  rudely 
shocked,  and  perhaps  overthrown.  Sometimes  virtue  and 
vice  are  founded  on  extreme  cases  of  reward  and  punish- 
ment. Thus  the  boy  who  robs  nests  has  often  assigned  to 
him  the  fate  of  falling  from  a  tree  into  a  river  and  being 
drowned  ;  or  the  lying  child  goes  on  in  a  wicked  course, 
till  perhaps  he  comes  to  the  gallows,  or,  like  Ananias,  is 
struck  dead.  Such  consequences  either  rarely  or  never 
occur ;  and  if  no  other  penalties  of  vice  are  mentioned,  the 
child  will  conclude  from  its  never  seeing  these  particular 
ones  occur  that  there  are  none  at  all.  (5)  The  book  should 
portray  virtue  for  imitation  rather  than  vice  for  avoidance. 
It  is  not  prudent  to  anatomize  vicious  characters  before  the 
young,  to  trace  their  steps  through  their  various  schemes, 
to  show  up  their  designs ;  even  for.  the  purpose  of  denounc- 
ing them.  As  has  been  well  remarked,  '  the  infectious  na- 
ture of  vices  is  not  destroyed  by  the  reproach  which  may  be 
attached  to  them.'  There  is  no  use  of  giving  children  an 
experience  of  evil  they  had  better  be  without.  Let  their 
innocence  be  preserved  as  long  as  it  may  ;  the  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil  will  come  soon  enough.  Not  the  dark  side 
of  human  nature,  then,  but  the  bright,  should  be  held  up  as 
the  picture  on  which  they  should  dwell.  (6)  The  subject 
of  the  book  may  either  be  level  to  their  experience,  or  it 
may  be  remote  from  it ;  but  the  story  should  not  be  improb- 
able. Robinson  Crusoe  and  the  Fairy  Tales  are  equally 
admissible.'  "  Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  troop  of  boys, 
notorious  for  all  kinds  of  juvenile  wickedness,  engaged  in  a 
bird's-nesting  expedition.  One,  better  than  the  rest,  and 
associated  with  them  then  only  by  accident,  was  shocked  at 
their  profanity  and  cruelty.  They  lost  their  way  in  a  wood 
and  were  benighted,  and  had  to  sleep  under  a  tree.  Pres- 


1 68  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

ently  noises  were  heard  from  the  howling  of  the  wild  beasts. 
The  good  boy  withdrew  from  his  comrades ;  who  were  at- 
tacked and  destroyed  by  the  beasts.  He  escaped."  This 
outline,  taken  from  a  book  professing  to  be  a  child's  book, 
shows,  with  other  faults,  the  absurd  improbabilities  often 
set  before  children.  (7)  The  sentiment  and  style  of  the 
book  should  be  unaffected.  The  flattering  prettinesses 
sometimes  addressed  to  the  young  with  the  view  of  getting 
them  to  listen,  regarding  either  their  personal  appearance 
or  their  actions  and  dispositions,  can  only  breed  conceit  and 
affectation  in  return.  And,  in  point  of  style,  there  is  an 
excess  of  expression,  a  studied  affectation  and  overdoing  of 
childish  words,  which  by  no  means  add  to  the  beauty  or 
simplicity  of  the  narrative. 

174.  Books  for  children  fall  under  two  classes ; 
rT^?,  j las£Jes  those  whose    subject-matter  is  real,  and  those 

of  Children's 

Books.  m  which  it  is  fictitious.     For  the  former  kind 

many  incidents  in  biography,  and  many  bio- 
graphical incidents  in  history,  ought  to  be  available.  But 
much  less  is  available  than  would  at  first  sight  appear; 
which  is  fully  explained  if  we  recollect  that  a  large  propor- 
tion of  these  incidents  are  connected  with  crime  and  pun- 
ishment, and  that  it  is  not  so  much  the  quiet  and  unobtru- 
sive virtues  they  record,  as  the  more  noisy  and  popular. 
Besides,  biography  and  history  are  seldom  or  never  written 
for  children.  On  the  whole,  the  teacher  may  make  more 
use  of  these  by  studying  the  incidents  himself  and  relating 
them  to  the  class,  simplified  in  style  and  somewhat  ideal- 
ized. There  remain  to  be  noticed  those  books  which 
embody  fictitious  narrative.  The  utilitarian  spirit  has  al- 
most entirely  banished  from  the  present  generation  the  old 
nursery  tales  ;  Cinderella,  Aladdin,  Sindbad,  and  the  fairies 
are  in  disgrace.  These  and  similar  tales  must  and  will  be 
brought  back  again,  being  fitted  for  children  in  all  time. 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  169 

They  are  much  superior  in  respect  of  healthy  influence  to 
the  generality  of  the  books  which  for  the  present  have 
superseded  them.  They  are  not  professedly  moral  tales  ; 
they  are  tales  of  imagination  and  amusement ;  but  neither 
are  they  immoral ;  of  none  of  them  can  worse  be  said  than 
that  they  leave  morality  where  they  found  it.  Whilst  many 
of  them,  especially  the  fairy  tales,  have  certainly  a  distinct 
moral  influence,  separating  good  from  evil  by  a  wide  and 
impassable  gulf,  instead  of  mingling  them  up  together  as  is 
now  so  commonly  done.  From  these  tales  the  teacher  may 
make  a  selection  suitable  for  his  purpose.  Stories  about 
animals,  and  dialogues  on  familiar  processes  and  things,  are 
very  attractive  to  children,  and  easily  accessible.  The  fables 
of  ^Esop  and  such  like  have  at  all  times  been  favorites  with 
children,  and  have  the  advantage  of  having  somewhat 
escaped  the  general  ostracism  of  our  day.  Perhaps  the 
fable  is  improved  for  the  purposes  of  reading  when  neatly 
done  into  verse.  Next  might  be  named  extracts  from  the 
works  of  writers  like  Miss  Edgeworth,  Mrs.  Barbauld,  Mrs. 
Lee,  Maria  Hack,  Peter  Parley,  and  others  ;  till  we  come  to 
tales  like  Sandford  and  Merton,  and  Robinson  Crusoe.  Ex- 
tracts might  also  be  made  from  some  other  established 
fictions — of  course  to  be  somewhat  prepared  by  the  teacher. 
And  there  is  a  large  variety  of  children's  papers  in  current 
publication,  where  he  may  find  something  to  serve  his  pur- 
pose. But  he  should  carefully  peruse  beforehand  whatever 
he  reads,  to  see  that  its  sentiment  be  correct ;  even  '  relig- 
ious tales,'  so  called,  should  not  be  exempted  from  careful 
scrutiny  with  this  view,  as  it  is  seldom  they  handle  religious 
truth  without  distorting  it  or  dislocating  its  parts. 

Caution  to  175.  Reading  to  children,  with  the  view  of 
inCReadingd  stimulating  the  imagination,  must  be  carefully 
to  children.  rcguiate(j  }n  amount.  It  is  not  prudent  to  let 
this  faculty  be  dormant ;  but  it  is  worse  to  over-excite  it. 


170  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

Two  or  three  weekly  readings  of  about  twenty  minutes 
each  are  amply  sufficient.  But  the  teacher  should  watch 
the  effect  of  his  reading  on  the  individual  temperaments 
of  the  children.  Some  are  more  liable  to  be  excited 
than  others  :  who  should  accordingly  be  less  frequently 
present  at  the  reading.* 


7.  On  Beading  and  Spelling. 

General  ^^-    Learning  to   read   is   unquestionably  a 

cautions  to  be  task  for  the  child.     It  should,  therefore,  not  be 

observed  in 

Teaching  seriously  undertaken  until  he  is  fit  to  encounter 
mg'  a  task ;  it  must  be  carried  on  with  a  very  careful 
regard  to  his  strength  ;  and  it  should  be  the  object  of  his 
instructor  to  make  him  feel  it  to  be  a  task  as  little  as  pos- 
sible. 

177.  The  proper  view  to  take  of  the  child 
of?eachingry  learning  to  read  is  that  he  is  learning  to  recog- 
SiVinffnt1  ™ze  *n  wr*tten  f°rms  the  words  with  which  he 
School.  is  already  familiar  in  speech.  We  only  surround 

him  with  difficulties  if  we  regard  his  reading- 
book  at  this  period  as  the  means  of  extending  his  vocabu- 
lary. He  acquires  words  in  the  conversational  lessons,  the- 
natural  vehicle  for  his  acquiring  them  ;  his  reading,  let  it  be 
repeated,  should  be  nothing  more  than  the  recognition  of 
what  is  already  familiar  to  him.  If  this  be  allowed,  four 
things  will  follow,,  First,  he  should  not  begin  to  read  from 
oooks  till  he  has  considerable  acquaintance  with  spoken 
^anguage ;  an  acquaintance  not  only  with  all  the  fundamen- 
tal words  denoting  relation,  some  of  which  occur  in  every 
sentence  we  utter,  but  with  the  names  of  all  the  familiar 
things  about  him,  and  with  the  most  common  qualities  of 
things.  Secondly,  the  reading  lesson  should  consist  of  words 
which  have  a  sense  for  him,  and  not  only  so,  but  of  sen- 
tences which  express  complete  thoughts :  otherwise  there  is 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION:  171 

nothing  for  him  to  recognize.  Lessons  consisting  of  col- 
umns of  single  words,  and  much  more  of  columns  of  sylla- 
bles or  parts  of  words,  are  not  suitable.  He  should  have  in 
all  his  lessons  the  stimulus  and  pleasure  which  arise  from 
the  recognition  by  the  eye  of  what  is  already  known  to  his 
mind.  Thirdly,  the  subjects  of  his  reading-lessons  should 
be  things  with  which  he  is  familiar  from  his  observations. 
He  will  recognize  most  readily  what  he  best  understands 
and  sympathizes  with.  Fourthly,  his  reading  must  be  sys- 
tematically interwoven  with  his  speech.  He  should  be  en- 
gaged in  a  conversational  lesson  on  the  subject  he  has  been 
reading  about,  which  shall  embody  the  words  he  has  read. 
This  will  give  a  practical  aspect  to  all  he  reads,  and  secure 
from  the  beginning  the  habit  of  reading  with  the  under- 
standing.* 

TWO  stages  178.  For  the  purposes  of  the  reading-lesson 
IchooTRead-  we  mav  reckon  two  periods  in  infant-school  at- 
ins-  tendance.  The  one  is  the  preparatory  period, 

that  in  which  the  child  is  being  prepared  for  reading,  rather 
than  actually  reading ;  the  other  is  that  in  which  reading  from 
books  is  a  systematic  lesson.  We  may  consider  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  year  as  the  boundary  between  the  two  ;  so  that 
the  first  shall  extend  over  a  year  at  least.  During  this  peri- 
od the  child  is  unfit  to  be  subjected  to  tasks.  He  may  be 
engaged  with  the  first  formal  steps  of  reading,  as  we  shall 
see  ;  but  the  real  preparation  for  his  subsequent  reading  is 
the  frequent  conversational  lesson,  which  develops  his  gen- 
eral intelligence  and  gives  him  some  power  over  spoken  lan- 
guage. 

179.  His  preparatory  lessons  in  reading  should 
ways  of  be-  leave  him  in  possession  of  all  the  fundamental 
pinning  Read- WQrds  jn  wrjtten  ianguage>  and  of  a  number  of 

the  names  of  familiar  things  and  qualities.     The 
method  of  giving  these  lessons  is  still  matter  of  opinion. 


i72  EARLY  £DUCATiOtf. 

The  old  way,  and  perhaps  still,  after  all,  the  common  way,  is 
to  teach  the  sounds  of  words  apparently  by  associating  these 
with  the  series  of  letter-names  in  the  words  ;  but  this  is  to 
teach  spelling  rather  than  reading.  It  is  evident  that  there 
is  no  natural  association  between  the  names  of  the  letters 
composing  a  word,  and  the  sound  of  a  word.  More  recent- 
ly it  has  been  sought  to  gain  the  end  by  decomposing  words 
according  to  the  powers  or  sounds  (and  not  the  names)  of 
the  letters.  This  method  is  certainly  capable  of  doing  good 
service  when  properly  used ;  but  it  has  suffered  somewhat 
from  injudicious  application.  The  attempt  to  apply  it 
universally  to  English  words  leads  to  an  elaborateness  and 
intricacy  of  system  quite  unsuitable  for  a  class  of  infants  : 
who  do  not  learn  reading,  or  anything  else,  by  rules.  Final- 
ly, it  has  been  proposed  to  teach  the  child  to  read  without 
the  aid  of  either  the  common  or  the  phonic  spelling ;  the 
words  being  simply  viewed  as  pictures,  with  which  the  eye 
is  to  make  itself  familiar,  in  whole,  as  it  does  with  other  pic- 
tures. 

180.  Our  first  aim  in  teaching  the  child  read- 
luIthat^Ts1"  mS  must  be  to  make  his  path  interesting ;  our 
greatest  pow-  second,  to  make  it  clear.  To  attain  the  first,  we 

er  with  the 

child.  must  awaken  his  curiosity,  intelligence,  and  ac- 

tivity about  the  things  of  which  he  reads ;  to 
attain  the  second,  we  must  give  him  whatever  aid  is  to  be 
derived  from  a  rational  classification  of  letters  or  of  princi- 
ples of  sound.  There  is  certainly  a  danger  of  trusting  too 
exclusively  to  the  second,  from  the  very  fact  that  it  requires 
us  more  or  less  to  construct  a  system  of  procedure  for  our- 
selves ;  it  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  whilst  the 
aid  derived  from  this  source  may  seem  to  make  the  child's 
path  clear,  it  does  not  necessarily  make  it  interesting.  That 
is  secured  only  when  we  attain  our  first  aim ;  which  must 
therefore  be  viewed  as  the  higher  of  the  two.  But  good 


INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  173 

teaching  will  keep  both  in  view,  and  will  strive  to  make 
them  act  harmoniously  in  support  of  each  other.  With 
these  preliminary  remarks,  the  order  and  method  of  the 
early  lessons  may  now  be  suggested. 

The  Alpha-  181.  (i)  The  Alphabet. — The  names  of  the 
letters  must  be  learned,  not  so  much  for  any 
direct  use  they  are  of  in  learning  to  read,  but  just  because 
they  are  the  names  of  things  that  require  frequently  to  be 
spoken  about.  And  they  may  be  acquired  at  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  course,  in  a  short  time,  and  not  only  without 
causing  the  child  any  trouble,  but  with  positive  interest  to 
him.  By  far  the  best  way  is  by  the  use  of  letter-cards  and 
slates.  Whatever  order  the  letters  are  taken  in,  let  the  card 
first  be  shown  to  the  class,  the  form  of  the  letter  carefully 
traced  and  described,  a  drawing  of  it  made  on  the  black- 
board, and  from  that  by  the  children  themselves  on  their 
own  slates,  and  the  name  frequently  repeated  in  course  of 
the  process :  when  they  have  all  been  gone  over  in  this  way, 
with  the  necessary  revisals,  let  the  teacher  question  them  on 
the  cards  at  random,  adding  an  easy  or  perhaps  amusing  de- 
scription of  the  forms,  and  let  the  children  question  each 
other  with  them  in  various  ways  as  their  ingenuity  may 
suggest.  Both  the  capitals  and  the  small  letters  may  be 
learned  in  this  way.*  Thus  the  lessons  on  the  Alphabet  are 
rather  form-lessons,  than  reading-lessons. 

182.  (2)  Words  of  Two  Letters— These  words 
twcf  Letters.  snould  be  learned  at  once,  having  the  sounds  at- 
tached to  their  forms  without  any  analysis  into 
their  separate  letters.  They  are  almost  all  irregular  in 
sound,  and  do  not  admit  of  phonic  analysis,  even  if  it  were 
desirable.  The  most  convenient  way  of  teaching  them  is  to 
have  them  printed  on  separate  cards  like  the  letters,  and  a 
similar  process  gone  through  with  them.  The  ingenuity  of 
the  children  may  be  agreeably  and  profitably  exercised  in 


174  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

arranging  them  into  sentences.  For  this  purpose  there 
should  be  a  board  or  frame  conveniently  constructed,  so  as 
to  admit  of  a  row  of  sentences  being  placed  on  it.  To  these 
words  of  two  letters  many  words  should  be  added  which 
consist  of  only  two  sounds,  though  of  three  letters,  e.g.,  are, 
you,  the,  etc.;  and  some  of  the  most  common  of  three  sounds, 
and,  but,  with,  not,  and  such  like.  If  this  apparatus  cannot 
be  had,  lesson-sheets  are  the  best  substitute ;  but  an  interest 
attaches  to  the  use  of  such  an  apparatus  which  even  lesson- 
sheets  cannot  attain. 

Phonic  An-  183.  (3)  When  they  come  to  read  from  the 
alogies.  lesson-sheets,  the  class  should  be  taught  to  per- 

ceive analogies  of  sound  in  words:  that  is  to  say,  they  should 
be  exercised  in  phonic  analysis.  Thus  the  words  «/,  an,  ox, 
all,  in,  it,  etc.,  are  the  roots  of  so  many  classes  of  words : 

fb-at 

c-at 

f-at 

at  \  h-at 

Im-at 
r-at 
[s-at 

Whenever,  therefore,  a  number  of  words  from  any  such 
class  occurs  in  a  reading  exercise, — e.g.,  bat,  cat,  fat, — they 
should  be  compared,  so  that  the  common  element  at  may  be 
recognized,  and  also  the  different  elements,  to  wit,  the 
sounds  attached  to  the  letters  b,  c,  and/.  The  number  of 
classes  of  words  thus  formed  may  be  largely  increased  by 
taking  as  roots  certain  syllables  which  are  not  words,  but 
from  each  of  which  a  number  of  words  arise  by  the  prefix- 
ing of  a  consonant ;  e.g. — 

(b-ill  fb-ad 

h-ill  1-ad 

m  ill  -ad  \  h-ad 

t-ill  s-ad 

k-ill  I  m-ad 


fc-an 
j  f-an 

b-all 
c-all 

jb-ox 
ox|f-ox 

(b-it 
f-it 

1  "an*    a11 

f-all 
h  all 

(f-in 

h-it 

r-an 

t-all 

in  •<  p-in 

p-it 

[v-an 

.w-all 

(  s-in 

s-it 

INTELLECTUAL  INSTRUCTION.  175 

and  some  others.  These  words,  it  must  be  understood,  do 
not  occur  to  the  class,  as  they  are  here  given,  tabularly. 
The  reading-lessons  are  constructed  so  as  to  present  them  in 
course,  and  they  are  selected  from  these  for  the  purpose  of 
analysis.  Classes  of  which  can,  cat,  car,  cap  are  types,  hav- 
ing the  common  element  first  and  the  differing  one  at  the 
end  of  the  word,  should  also  be  examined.  No  great  num- 
ber of  reading-lessons  is  required  to  put  the  children  in  pos- 
session of  all  the  sounds  of  the  letters,  both  consonants  and 
vowels.  When  this  is  done,  they  have  the  key  to  reading  in 
their  hands;  and  they  should  be  required  systematically  to 
use  it  henceforward. 

Apparatus  184<  No  reading-book  should  be  put  into  the 
t(riortoethe  ^an(^s  °f  t^6  class  during  these  early  lessons. 
Reading-  This  is  a  point  of  some  importance ;  a  class  who 
are  obliged  to  look  individually  at  their  books 
are  thereby  precluded  from  that  mutual  sympathy  and  com- 
mon activity  which  is  necessary  to  their  success  in  any  ex- 
ercise. Lesson-sheets  are  an  intermediate  resource  between 
the  letter  and  word  cards  just  described  and  the  use  of  the 
reading-book.  The  cards  and  lesson-sheets,  and  the  black- 
board and  their  own  slates,  should  be  the  sole  materials  for 
the  instruction  in  reading  of  a  class  under  four  and  a  half 
years  of  age. 

185.  The  teaching  should  be  continued  in  the 

General  di-  .    .  •_««•.« 

rections  for  same  spirit  when  the  child  takes  the  reading- 
conducting  1_  1  •  1  J  /  \  T.I  1  •  f  1  1  1J 

the  more  ad-  book  in  hand,  (r)  The  phonic  analysis  should 
ii?g.CCd  Read"  accompany  each  lesson,  so  that  he  may  have 
every  facility  which  the  ear  can  afford  to  read- 
ing. And  the  teacher  may  observe  that,  whilst  it  would 
certainly  be  better  to  have  the  lessons  arranged  in  the  read- 
ing-book for  this  analysis,  he  is  not  altogether  dependent 
on  whether  they  are  so  or  not.  By  using  his  black-board 


176  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

he  may  give  analogies  of  sound  from  every  lesson.  Irregu- 
lar words  cannot  be  thus  analyzed  ;  their  sounds  should  be 
at  once  told.  (2)  The  subject  of  every  reading-lesson  must 
be  carried  home  to  the  child's  understanding,  so  that  it  may 
be  thoroughly  lodged  amongst  the  things  which  have  an  in- 
terest for  him.  And  not  only  at  the  time  should  teacher 
and  pupils  talk  over  the  subject ;  it  will  be  found  very  con- 
ducive to  the  end  in  view  to  recommend  it  to  their  atten- 
tion over  the  evening,  so  that  they  may  collect  any  points  of 
information  at  home  about  it  which  they  can,  and  to  recur 
to  the  subject  on  the  morrow  or  soon  after.  (3)  If  the 
moral  aids  to  the  reading-lesson  be  wanting,  it  will  avail 
little  to  have  those  of  an  intellectual  or  mechanical  sort. 
It  is  they  alone  that  can  supply  motives  to  the  child  for  ex- 
ertion. Patience,  kindliness  of  temper,  good  humor  keep 
the  child  pleased  with  itself,  and  with  its  teacher ;  which  is 
essential  to  success.  It  is  not  indispensable  that  the  child 
should  be  pushed  on  rapidly ;  but  it  is  indispensable  that  he 
should  like  the  work  he  is  engaged  in.  Success  in  teaching 
the  elements  of  reading  seems  often  a  very  arbitrary  thing  ; 
it  is  the  moral  qualities  of  the  teacher  which  will  be  found 
to  explain  the  results. 

186.  Reading  includes  not  only  the  power  of 
Reading— "im-  recognizing  words,  but  of  uttering  their  sounds 
ferance0/ Ut"  correctly »  and  to  tnis  aspect  of  it  great  atten- 
tion should  be  paid  in  the  infant  school.  Chil- 
dren pick  up  the  sounds  of  words  by  imitation,  so  that  they 
are  liable  to  error  from  two  causes  :  either  from  having 
wrong  models  for  imitation,  or  from  their  own  imperfect 
imitation  of  their  models.  Under  the  first  head  are  to  be 
reckoned  provincialisms  of  all  sorts,  but  also  deliberate  mis- 
pronunciations encouraged  in  them  by  their  parents  un- 
der the  notion  of  accommodating  their  speech  to  the  wants 
of  the  children  in  point  of  simplicity.  Under  the  second 


INTELLECTUAL   INSTRUCTION.  177 

head  we  may  set  the  confounding  of  similar  or  allied  sounds 
by  the  vocal  organ,  or  the  imperfect  formation  of  difficult 
sounds  ;  the  confounding  of  the  liquids  /and  r,  s  and  ///,  / 
and  k,ghr  and  r,  etc.  Such  impurities  of  articulation  occur 
in  every  infant  school ;  the  pupil  who  exhibits  them  should 
be  taken  aside,  and  be  made  to  observe  the  true  sounds 
with  the  ear  and  the  manner  of  their  formation  by  the  vo- 
cal organs  with  the  eye,  till  he  can  utter  them. 

indistinct-  187-  Another  fault  to  be  guarded  against  is 
indistinctness,  arising  either  from  a  general 
feebleness  of  articulation,  or  from  the  suppression  or  slur- 
ring of  some  part  of  the  sound  of  a  word.  This  occurs  most 
readily  with  the  liquids,  especially  when  two  of  these,  or  a 
liquid  and  a  dental,  follow  each  other  in  successive  syllables. 
To  correct  this  fault,  if  it  have  been  already  incurred,  the  pu- 
pil should  be  accustomed  to  full  and  strong  utterance  of  all 
the  parts  of  the  word,  even  overdoing  it  for  a  time  ;  reading 
sentences  with  a  slight  pause  after  each  word,  and  words 
with  a  slight  pause  after  each  syllable.  The  most  certain 
preventive  of  this  fault  in  an  infant  school  is  the  habit  of 
distinct  and  forcible  articulation  in  the  teacher,  in  speaking 
as  well  as  reading.  The  value  of  this  habit  as  a  qualifica- 
tion in  an  infant-school  teacher  is  for  the  most  part  not 
sufficiently  estimated. 

188.  These  are  the  faults  to  which  infants  are 
ind*chaVed!ult8  most  liable  in  their  reading.  But  the  teacher 
must  cultivate,  so  far  as  there  is  opportunity,  all 
the  recognized  qualities  of  good  reading;  e.g.,  proper  time, 
which  consists  not  only  in  stopping  at  the  pauses,  but  in 
giving  proper  length  to  the  vowel-sounds,  as  feel,  sweet, good, 
dream,  broad ;  proper  tone  and  pitch,  which  varies  with  each 
voice,  but  which  is  equally  free  from  monotonous  drawl  or 
sing-song  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  an  irregular  scream 
on  the  other. 
12 


178  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

189.  The  practice  of  simultaneous  reading, 
Use  of  Si-  moderately  indulged  in,  may  be  attended  with 
Reading.  some  good  effects.  First,  in  respect  of  time,  it 
tends  to  correct  both  the  extremes  of  quick  and 
of  slow  reading  by  requiring  conformity  to  one  standard. 
Secondly,  it  tends  to  heighten  distinctness  of  utterance  from 
the  very  effort  needed  to  observe  a  measured  time.  One 
is  always  struck  by  the  degree  to  which  distinctness  charac- 
terizes simultaneous  utterance.  Thirdly,  it  tends  to  modify 
any  peculiarities  of  tone  in  individual  readers  :  after  a  lit- 
tle practice,  a  harmony  of  intonation  is  almost  always  es- 
tablished. Too  much,  however,  must  not  be  expected  from 
simultaneous  reading ;  it  tends  to  correct  faults  rather  than 
to  impart  any  positive  excellence. 

Spelling. 

HOW  the  190.  According  to  the  common  way  reading 
child  learns  js  acquired  through  spelling.  This  relation 
first.  should  be  reversed ;  spelling  should  be  learned 

through  reading.  There  should  be  no  formal 
lesson  on  spelling  given  during  the  preparatory  lessons  on 
reading ;  and  yet  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the 
child  is  not  learning  to  spell  during  these,  for  spelling  is  a 
habit  of  the  eye.  The  forms  of  words  must  be  familiar  to 
the  eye  before  there  can  be  any  spelling.  This  then  is  the 
contribution  which  the  early  lessons  in  reading  make  to  the 
child's  progress  in  spelling, — and  it  is  a  great  one, — that 
they  stamp  the  images  of  the  words  on  his  mind,  so  that  his 
eye  recognizes  them  when  it  sees  them,  and,  consequently, 
any  deviation  from  their  form. 

191.  The  elder  infants   may  be  practised  in 
Formal        spelling;   but    not    alone  upon    any   prepared 
Spelling.         amount,  nor  in  any  one  lesson  in  particular.     It 
may  be  introduced  as  effectively  in  the  object- 
or form-lesson  as  in  the  reading-lesson.      The  exercise  is 


INTELLECTUAL   INSTRUCTION.  179 

designed  to  test  their  intimacy  with  the  forms  of  the  words 
that  have  come  before  them  during  their  preparatory  les- 
sons in  reading.  It  holds  with  spelling,  as  with  reading, 
that  the  subject  should  be  words  forming  a  sense.  Besides 
the  names  of  things,  sentences  should  be  spelled  through, 
by  single  words  or  by  a  number  of  words  together.  Much 
is  attained  if  the  children  can  spell  monosyllabic  words  with 
some  facility  when  they  leave  the  infant  school. 

192.  As  spelling  is  learned,  not  for  the  pur- 
ary^ictltio'n.P0508  °*  spoken  language,  but  for  those  of  writ- 
ten, so  spelling  and  writing  must  be  conjoined 

as  soon  as  practicable.  The  elder  infants,  who  have  previ- 
ously had  practice  in  writing  on  their  slates  the  letters  of 
the  alphabet,  and  also  the  simplest  kinds  of  words,  may 
profitably  be  engaged  in  this  rudimentary  dictation-exercise, 
which  serves  the  double  end  of  teaching  them  both  writing 
and  spelling. 

Grammar. 

193.  Grammar  is  sometimes  taught  in  the  in- 
impropriety  fant    school,   but   with    little   propriety.      The 

?n  th? "TnTa^t  teacher  is  often  tempted  to  introduce  the  ele- 
Schooi.  ments  of  this  subject  by  seeing  that  the  children 

seem  to  understand  his  familiar  oral  illustrations 
of  noun,  verb,  and  other  parts  of  speech.  But  this  under- 
standing is  not  real ;  it  can  be  turned  to  no  practical  account. 
Nothing  whatever  is  gained  by  such  an  anticipation  of  fu- 
ture studies.  The  work  has  all  to  be  done  over  again ;  and 
it  occupies  time  which  may  be  more  profitably  occupied 
with  subjects  of  whose  propriety  there  can  be  no  dispute. 
Therefore  it  should  be  altogether  deferred. 


l8o  EARLY  EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

RELIGIOUS   INSTRUCTION. 

194.  "  OUR  Father  who  art  in  heaven"  should 
General  be  the  key-note  of  all  the  religious  instruction 
theTnfant?  conveyed  in  the  infant  school.  In  these  words 
figtous  fn-  "  'ls  c°mPrised  all  religious  truth,  as  the  plant  is 
struction.  in  the  seed."  God  is  our  father  ;  for  He  is  the 
creator  of  ourselves  and  of  all  we  see  around  us. 
He  is  our  father  ;  and,  as  a  father,  He  provides  lovingly  and 
carefully  for  all  His  children.  He  is  our  father  ;  and,  when 
He  sees  His  children  in  danger,  He  rescues  us  from  it,  hav- 
ing even  sent  into  our  world  His  Son,  who  is  our  elder 
brother,  to  save  us  from  our  greatest  danger — the  death  of 
sin.  He  is  our  father ;  and  so  we  have  "  the  bright  hope  of 
eternal  life,  for  why  should  a  father  give  life  to  his  children 
in  order  afterwards  to  slay  them  ?  "  *  He  is  our  father,  lov- 
ing not  one  only,  but  all  the  members  of  His  great  family  ; 
who  ought,  therefore,  to  love  one  another.  He  is  our  father ; 
and  so  should  we  give  to  Him  all  the  love  and  reverence 
and  obedience  which  are  due  to  a  father.  He  is  our  father 
/«  heaven,  all-wise  therefore,  holy,  and  good  ;  and  so  should 
we  try  to  be  like  Him,  and  humbly  seek  to  know  and  do  His 
will.  He  is  our  father  in  heaven  ;  and  if  we  be  dutiful  chil- 
dren, He  will  take  us  to  dwell  with  Himself  in  light  forever 
and  ever.  "  Our  Father  in  heaven  !"  words  worthy,  from 
their  inexhaustible  depth  of  meaning  and  fulness  of  obli- 
gation, to  preface  the  model  prayer  which  our  Divine 
Teacher,  the  Son  of  our  Father  in  heaven,  hath  given  us ! 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION.  iSl 

.    .         195.  This  idea  of  "  God  our  Father  in  heaven" 

t/xtent  01 

instruction  in  must  be  made  the  centre  of  the  whole  circle  of 
doctrines  we  teach  to  children.  The  circle  is 
wide;  but  in  traversing  it  we  must  ever  keep  the  centre  in 
our  eye,  as  the  sun  which  gives  light  and  life  to  the  whole. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  reaching  the  infant  mind  with  doc- 
trines like  the  following ;  which,  so  far  from  being  received 
by  it  as  strange,  seem  to  it  quite  natural,  from  that  "sense 
of  God  "  which  pervades  its  being  :  God  the  creator  of  the 
world  and  of  man— God  the  preserver  of  all — His  attributes 
of  power,  wisdom,  eternity,  unchangeableness,  omniscience, 
omnipresence,  holiness,  truth,  goodness — His  Son,  our  Re- 
deemer, Teacher,  Example — the  love,  reverence,  and  obedi- 
ence we  owe  Him — our  sinfulness,  and  our  duty  to  follow 
holiness — the  Scriptures,  His  Word  which  we  should  read 
— prayer — the  reward  of  the  good — the  shortness  of  life — 
death — life  in  heaven  with  Himself.  This  outline  compre- 
hends the  substance  of  our  religion  ;  and  is  an  amply  suf- 
ficient basis  on  which  to  rear  instruction  in  its  practical 
duties. 

196.  Everything  depends  on  the  manner  in 
Manner  of    which  we  convey  this  instruction.     In  this  we 
thiTTostruc-    must  have  respect  to  the  laws  which  regulate 
the  whole  instruction  of  the  infant  school.     An 
abstract  style  of  teaching  is  unsuitable,  however 
clear  our  proofs  or  simple   our  phraseology.     The  "  Cate- 
chism" is  the  exponent  of  this  style  of  teaching,  and  can 
never,  therefore,  be  the  vehicle  of   effectual  instruction   by 
itself.     Its  forms  of  expression  are  mere  words  to  the  child.* 
We  must  use  the  conversational  form  of  instruction,  which 
allows  us  to   present  to  the  child  whatever  subjects  and 
phases  of  subjects  are  fit  for  him.     And  these  oral  lessons 
must  convey  their  teaching  by  means   of  "  examples"  or 
"  illustrations."     The  doctrines  of  Scripture  must  be  learned 


182  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

from  the  narrative  of  Scripture ;  and  thus  the  two  will  be 
interwoven  as  they  should  be,  each  throwing  light  on  the 
other.  The  complexion  presented  by  the  religious  instruc- 
tion of  the  infant  school  to  a  person  viewing  it  as  a  whole 
is  that  of  a  series  of  stories,  which  in  the  first  instance  en- 
gage the  imagination  and  feelings  of  the  child  from  their 
own  interest ;  but  each  of  which  suggests  a  doctrinal  lesson, 
and  the  whole  series  of  which  is  arranged  as  to  leave  the 
child  in  possession  of  a  connected  scheme  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  Bible.  If  this  manner  of  teaching  by  story  be  fol- 
lowed, there  is  little  danger  of  the  instruction  falling  into 
the  great  error  which  most  besets  it,  that  of  becoming  too 
theological ;  which  it  does  either  when  it  tries  to  explain 
abstruser  doctrines,  which  are  as  difficult  for  men  to  com- 
prehend as  for  children,  or  when  it  uses  technical  theologi- 
cal terms  instead  of  the  language  of  every-day  life.  In 
stating  the  doctrines  as  they  successively  flow  from  the 
daily  lesson,  by  far  the  best  way  is  to  express  them  in  se- 
lected texts  from  Scripture,  clear,  short,  and  emphatic ; 
which  the  children  should  commit  to  memory  and  often  be 
made  to  repeat.  It  is  well  to  have  a  series  of  these  on  the 
school-walls  ;  but  they  are  for  the  most  part  not  sufficiently, 
often  they  are  never,  used. 

197.  The  following  scheme  will  exemplify  the 

Outline  of    nature  °f  the  lessons  ;  and  the  teacher  may  ex- 

a  Scheme  of    pand   it  indefinitely.     It  will  be  seen  that  the 

Lessons.  J, 

channels  of  instruction  are  various  ;  being  most 
commonly  incidents  from  Old  or  New  Testa- 
ment history,  sometimes  the  parables  of  our  Lord,  and 
sometimes  mere  descriptions  addressed  to  the  imagination. 
The  same  truth  may  be  enforced  by  many  lessons,  for  the 
sake  of  impressiveness,  either  in  the  same  aspect  or  in  dif- 
ferent aspects : — 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION. 


183 


TRUTH  TO  BE  LEARNED.      CHANNEL  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

Comparison  with  earth- 
God  our  Father  .  .  \      ly  parent.    Parable  of 
Prodigal  Son. 


)  "  Our  Father  who 
>•  art  in  heaven." 
)  Ps.  ciii.  13. 


God  the  Creator 


(of  the  world.  |S   )  ~n    .    T 

.  ]    "    heavens.  £1   [£"•-££ 

(    "     man  and  beast,  jj.3   )  Ps"  XXX1II< 


God  the  Preserver  . 


Incidents     in     life     of  ^ 

Noah,  Abraham,  Da-   (   Ps.  xxxvi.  6. 


vid,  Daniel,  Elijah, 
Peter,  Christ. 


f  Ps.  cxlv.  20. 


God's  Power  .... 


Miracles    in  ^ 
lifeofDan- 

iel,    Peter, 
Ch'rist       ' 


Ps.  cxlvii.  5. 
Luke  i.  37. 
Matt.  viii.  27. 


Omniscience  .  .  .  , 


Incidents     in     life     of  1 

Abraham,  Moses,  Eli-  [  Acts  i.  24. 

jah,   Peter,   Pharaoh,  [   i  John  iii.  3-20. 
Herod. 


Omnipresence  . 


Jacob. 
Daniel. 
Christ. 


Prov.  xv.  13. 
Gen.  xxviii.  16. 


Holiness  .  .  . 


Our  first  parents.  Abra- 
Flood.  ham, 

Sodom.         Moses,  etc. 


Ps:  cxlv. 
i  John  i.  v. 


God  our  Redeemer 
in  Christ. 

Christ  our  example, 
teacher.elder  bro- 
ther, intercessor, 
Saviour  .  .  . 


Under  this  head  may  be 
introduced  the  chief 
incidents  in  the  life  of 
Christ,  both  parables 
and  miracles. 


Corresponding 
texts. 


Our  own  sinfulness 

Holiness  alone  from 

the  Lord 


Moses. 
Israelites. 
David. 
Peter. 


Do. 


184  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

TRUTH  TO  BE  LEARNED.     CHANNEL  OF  INSTRUCTION.  TEXTS. 

n      ,  j  Any  of  the  prominent 

'  \    characters  in  Scripture. 
Resurrection  ....       Christ's  ;  Lazarus'.  ~  ,. 

f  Parable     of     Lazarus.       Corresponding 
Future  State  of  Life  j       Transfiguration.  Our 


or  Death j       Lord's     parable     of 

sheep  and  goats. 

By  filling  up  this  outline  a  little,  a  series  of  lessons  for  a 
year  might  easily  be  constructed,  And  this  would  suffice 
for  the  purposes  of  doctrinal  instruction  in  the  infant  school  ; 
it  would  be  better  to  revise  in  the  second  year  than  to  ex- 
tend the  course.  In  this  case  a  higher  style  of  treatment 
would  be  necessary  ;  which  might  be  varied  by  sometimes 
basing  the  instruction  on  Scripture  emblems.  These  are  not 
less  excellent  a  field  of  instruction  for  the  younger  infants 
than  for  the  elder,  who  can  bring  the  knowledge  of  Scrip- 
ture incidents  already  acquired  to  bear  on  their  illustration. 

198.  The  same  method  must  be  followed  sub- 
instruction  stantially  in  teaching  moral  and  religious  duty, 
in  Practical  The  only  difference  is  that  in  addition  to  the 
incidents  of  Scripture  the  teacher  will  find  a 
large  store  of  anecdotes  in  secular  narrative 
serviceable  as  the  groundwork  of  his  instruction.  He 
should  be  acquainted  with  many  of  these  ;  indeed,  he  should 
be  a  reader  of  biography  for  the  purpose.  With  each  lesson 
a  text  of  Scripture  should  be  committed  to  memory.  In 
this  way  should  be  enforced  the  whole  range  of  virtues  ap- 
propriate to  children  :  obedience  to  parents,  to  teachers, 
respect  to  old  age,  truthfulness,  honesty,  justice,  a  forgiving 
spirit,  kindness,  kindness  to  animals,  avoiding  story-telling 
and  nicknames,  charity  to  the  poor,  patience,  meekness,  dili- 
gence, faithfulness  to  trust,  redeeming  the  time,  order,  punc- 
tuality, economy,  cleanliness,  etc.,  etc.  Many  stories  may  be 
found  for  each  of  these,  in  addition  to  those  which  the 
teacher's  imagination  may  construct  from  observing  the 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION.  185 

children's  conduct  towards  each  other ;  so  that  this  practical 
religious  instruction  is  always  going  on,  and  yet  is  ever  fresh. 

199.  Apart  from  the  formal  religious  lesson, 
incidental    much    instruction   may  be  given    incidentally, 

Religious  In-  ,  / 

struction.  suggested  either  by  what  is  observed  in  the 
course  of  the  secular  lessons,  or  by  circum- 
stances which  occur  in  the  daily  intercourse  of  the  school. 
Such  instruction  is  very  valuable  ;  it  is  the  test  of  the 
sincerity  of  the  formal  instruction — that  which  shows  to 
the  children  that  the  teacher's  mind  habitually  turns  to  the 
solemn  truths  he  teaches  in  the  religious  lesson,  and  which 
exhibits  the  proper  use  to  make  of  these  truths — that  which 
alone  gives  a  religious  character  to  the  whole  work.  It  is 
that  which  inclines  the  child  to  try  everything  by  the  light 
of  God's  law,  and  to  take  a  Christian  view  of  all  His  works. 
At  the  same  time  little  can  be  said  of  it  except  that  it 
should  be  given  ;  the  time  and  manner  of  giving  it  can  be 
reduced  to  no  rule.  But  the  teacher  who  keeps  in  view  the 
high  moral  ends  of  his  teaching  will  never  lack  opportuni- 
ties at  which,  without  any  abruptness  or  forcing,  to  drop 
the  word  in  season  into  the  willing  ear  of  the  child. 

200.  Whilst  it  will  hold  as  a  rule  that  in  seek- 
ofE£ternais     ing  to   reach  the   mind  with  religious  instruc- 
gious  Lesson,  tion  the  same   principles  of  teaching  must  be 

followed  which  are  approved  of  in  the  secular 
lesson,  it  will  always  contribute  to  effectiveness  of  impres- 
sion that  the  whole  treatment  should  give  indications  of 
greater  seriousness  of  manner  than  the  ordinary  school- 
work  demands.  A  powerful  influence  will  be  exercised  on 
the  young  mind  if  it  is  wont  to  see  sacred  subjects  handled 
in  a  way  which  betokens  the  reverent  recognition  by 
teacher  and  pupils  of  a  Power  before  whom  both  must  bow. 
Any  expedients  in  a  class-management,  therefore,  which  in- 


1 86  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

terfere  or  seem  to  interfere  with  this  may  well  be  dispensed 
with,  even  though  experience  recommends  them  for  adop- 
tion in  the  secular  lesson.  The  object  of  this  is  to  set 
bounds  about  the  religious  lesson,  that  it  may  be  indeed 
felt  by  all  to  be,  what  it  is,  a  religious  thing. 

201.  Specimens  of  the  different  kinds  of  les- 

Exampies     sons  are  subjoined  by  way  of  appendix.     With 

ent  kindfof"    reference  to  these,  it  may  be  observed  that  the 

Lessen— S'The  subject-matter  of    the   religious   instruction  is 

Scripture  the  same  for  the  younger  as  for  the  elder  in- 
Narrative.1  .  ' 

fants.     Ineir  less  advanced  condition  must  be 

provided  for  in  the  manner  of  giving  the  in- 
struction. The  story,  the  object  that  forms  the  emblem, 
the  features  of  the  scene,  in  a  word,  whatever  appeals  to 
the  observation  must  be  dwelt  upon,  and  the  abstract  in- 
struction diminished  in  rehative  amount;  the  lesson  itself 
should  also  be  shorter,  and  the  language  more  familiar. 


i. 
Christ's  Power— Scripture  Narrative— Matt.  viii.  23-27. 

Introduc-          Jesus'  habit    of  going  about  preaching — travelled  £ 
tlon-  like  other   men — how   travellers  go? — he  would  go  § 

mostly  on  foot,  for  he  was  poor — he  lived  much  about  the  Sea  of  |: 
Galilee — often  crossed  it — how  would  he  do  so  ? — where  would  he  \ 
get  the  boat?  o' 

Describe  the  scene  here — he  and  his  disciples  (name 
scr£2f.de"  some)  embarking— a  little  ship  with  a  sail— the  hills  § 
round  the  lake — how  the  gusts  of  wind  sometimes  g 
come  down — the  storm  raised — the  large  waves  breaking  over  the  % 
vessel — what  would  they  feel  ?— why  ?— and  what  would  become  J! 
of  them  ? 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION.  187 

What  did  they  do  at  last  ? — How  they  found  Jesus — 
Jesus. 

strange — was   he    in  any  danger  ?— why  not  ? — what 

they  thought  he  would  do  to  them — they  had  seen  him  do  strange 
things  before — Ought  they  to  have  been  afraid  then  ? — They  should 
have  trusted  him — What  he  told  them. 

The  Mir-  What  he  did — his  word — the  wind  ceased  and  the  -a 

big  waves  fell,  and  there  was  a  calm — danger  re-  *  ^ 
moved. — They  had  often  seen  a  change,  but  none  like  this — what -2  | 
was  strange  here — what   would    they  think? — And   other   sailors  .SQJ 
who  might  be  there  who  did  not  know  him  ?    Suppose  the  same  2 
case  now. 

What  they  said  —  what  Tesus  showed — could  any    . 
Lessons.  i* 

man  show  such   power  ? — Jesus  was   God — and  how  g 

good  he  was  to  his  disciples,  even  though  they  were  wrong — they  '5 
would  like  to  have  such  a  friend.  o 

Personal  Where  is  Jesus    now  ? — Powerful  still,    and  good  g 

Application,  still,  though  we  cannot  see  him. — Let  us  be  his  g 
friends,  and  love  him,  and  ask  him  to  do  us  good  ;  he  sees  us  and  g 
hears  us,  and  he  will  do  it. 

•2. 

The  Scrip-       202>  God's  goodness  —  Scripture    Emblem— 
ture  Emblem.  «  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd  "  (§  44). 

What  the  shepherd  does  : — 

blemeilhis-  Watches  his  sheep  on  the  hill-sides  and  in  the  fields  g 

trated  vari-      — keeps  away  danger,  either  from  men  or  wild  ani-  3 
ously  in  its 
natural  use.      mals.  t& 

Feeds  them— seeks  out  the  best  pastures— the  green  B 
pastures — beside  the  quiet  streams — not   amongst  the   rocks — or  "g 

brings  them  food  into  the  fields,  where  there  is  not  grass  for  them.  £ 

o 

What  th  Leads  them  carefully  from  one  place  to  another —  £ 

shepherd          how  he   gathers  them   from  the  hills   or  the  field —  8 
watches  them  along  the  road,  that  none  stray — and  O 
carries  the  young  ones  when  they  arc  tired. 


1 88  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

Sometimes  he  is  himself  in  danger — among  the  hills  when  he  G' 
loses  his  way,  or  when  snow  comes — but  he  faces  this  danger  for  1 
his  sheep — for  he  is  kind,  and  patient,  and  watchful.  £ 

Who  is  the  Shepherd  spoken  of  here  ? — Who  can 
uaTt^th1"1"    be  the  sheeP  ?— Christ  says,  "  I  am  the  good  shepherd,  c. 
and   know   my   sheep,  and  am  known  of  mine — the  | 
good  shepherd  giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep." — The  kind  of  people  $ 
that  are  his  sheep  ?— Those  who  love  and  obey  him  ? — how  safe 
they  must  be  with  such  a  shepherd  ! 

We  need  guidance  in  the  world — for,  like  sheep,  we  a 
AppHcatfdn.    are  weak — let  us  l°ve  and  follow  Christ,  that  we  may  '| 

be  his  sheep,  and  that  he  may  care  for  us. 
Note — Lessons  on  emblems  very  often  fail  from  too 
great  refinement  in  tracing  the  analogy ;  the  truth  is  then 
apt  to  be  lost  sight  of  in  verbal  distinctions.  We  may 
illustrate  the  emblem  in  its  natural  use  variously,  as  has 
been  done  above  under  three  heads ;  but  we  are  not  to  seek 
for  as  many  corresponding  heads  in  enforcing  the  fact  sym- 
bolized in  the  emblem.* 

3- 

The  Scrip-       203.  Christ's  love  for  children — Scripture  pre- 
ture  Precept.  cept_«  Suffer  little  children,"  etc. 

Scene  de-   '       Describe  the  scene  of  Jesus  preaching  to  the  people 
scribed.  — ke  often  ^id  so — one  {}me  he  was  preaching,  and 

there  was  a  crowd  round  him — men  and  women,  and  children  too.  . 
And  the  people  were  pleased  with  his  mild  and  loving  words —  <g 
they  brought  their  children  to  him — why  ? — What  they  must  have  -5 
thought  of  Christ — He  had  always  blessed  people  and  done  good  | 
to  them. 

Disciples  were  there,  as  they  always  were — stopped  «? 
ren'receTJed.  the  Pe°P^ — thought  their  Master  had  no  time.     He  - 

had  very  much  to  do,  but  he  did  not  turn  away  the 
little  children — He  saw  what  they  were  doing,  and  prevented 
them. 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION.  189 

Jesus'  His  words — "  Suffer"— rsuppose  you  ask  me  to  let 

you  go  out,  then  I  allow  you,  or  suffer  you. — suppose  g 
you  are  writing  on  your  book,  and  I  tell  you  not  to  do  it,  then  I  S. 
"forbid"  you.  What  Christ  said,  then,  was  that  his  disciples  c 
were  to  let  the  mothers  bring  their  children  to  him,  and  not  to  u 
stop  them. 

Christ  cares  for  children  as  well  as  for  men — He  ^ 

Lessons.       was  once  a  little  child  himself — If  he  loves  them,  what  c 

should  they  do  to  him  ? — What  he  wishes  them  to  be  ?  '£ 

Kind  and  obedient,  etc.,  as  he  was — and  if  they  are  so  he  will  § 

bless  them — He  has  many  children  in  heaven  with  himself. 

4. 

One  of  a 

series  of  Les-      204.  One  of  a  series  of  lessons  on  the  Lord's 

sons  on  the       ,-»  —,,       ,  .        ,  ,, 

Lord's  Prayer — "  Thy  kingdom  come. 

Prayer. 

Introduc-          The  terms  King,  Kingdom,  and  Subjects  illustrated  frd 

tion  1-1  ^  ° 

correlatively.  §  ~ 

u 

Kingdom  amongst  men  is  a  particular  part  of  the 
dom.d'*  King"  earth,  as  England,  France,  etc.— Kingdom  of  God  not  g 
like  this — ranges  over  the  whole  earth,  and  has  men  3 
of  every  nation  and  clime — the  Briton,  the  Frenchman,  the  •&, 
African  from  the  sandy  deserts,  the  Laplander  from  his  icy  plains  1 
and  hills,  etc.  (Draw  out  this  picture  somewhat.) 

Kingdom  amongst  men  governed  by  certain  laws — 
Its  Laws. 

sometimes  good  and  sometimes  bad — Christ's  King-  ^ 

dom  has  laws  too — tell  me  some  of  them.     Here  is  one,  "  Thou  «  ^ 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,"  etc. — here  is  another,   "Live  at  .2  o 
peace  with   all   men" — and   another,    "  Do  justly,   love   mercy,"  «« 
etc. — and  another,  "  If  thy  brother  offend  thee,  forgive  him,"  etc.  § 
These  are  good  laws — we  must  try  to  keep  them — how  happy  men 
would  be  if  all  kept  them  ! 

§ 
Its  pros-  Kingdom  of  God  not  yet  spread  over  whole  world —  ^ 

name  (descriptively)  some  people  who  are  yet  without  | 
it — once  it  only  included  one  people  (the  Jews),  in  a  little  country  <j 


igo  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

— now  it  has  spread  over  nuach  of  the  world — it  will  spread  every- 
where— Christ's  promise. 

How  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  to  be  spread — by  men 
be^spTeaV8  tO  Preacmng  to  the  nations  who  are  not  in  it — mission- 
aries— what  we  can  do — support  them  with  our  money  g* 
when  we  have  any — many  missionaries    in    different    lands,  and  3 
needing  to   be   supported — something  else  we  can   all  do— pray  rt 
God  to  help  the  missionaries,  and  to  make  the  heathen  willing 
to  listen  to  them — nothing  can  be  done  without  this. 

Repeat  prayer  for  spread  of  the  Gospel,  8  207. —  « 

Lessons.  ° 

When  Christ  was  on  earth,  he  taught  us  to  pray — and  5 

one  of  the  things  he  told  us  was,  to  pray  thus:  "Thy  kingdom  | 
come" — what  we  should  pray  for  frequently.*  u 


5- 

iJssonMoral       205.  Moral  lesson— on  Truth. 

Introduc-          Children,  you   have  all  seen  the  cherry-tree  grow- 
tlon<  ing — on  the  house-wall,  with   its  long  branches  like    . 

arms,   tacked  to  the  wall  to  keep   them   up — sometimes  on  the  .2 
school-wall. 

trJe^eCherry"  wall  of  the  school,  and  it  had  much  fruit  on  it— per 

haps  a  basketful  of  cherries.  It  belonged  to  the  g 
teacher,  and  though  not  in  the  play-ground,  the  children  could  £ 
reach  some  of  the  branches,  and  the  cherries  on  them — would  it  £ 
be  right  in  the  children  to  touch  them  ?  why  not  ?  We  should  take  g 
nothing  that  is  not  our  own.  Well,  they  did  not  touch  them. 

Two  little  boys  came  to  school — once  they  passed  c- 

the  tree  and  stood  to  look  at  it — and,  as  they  looked,  -S 

they  wished  for  a  cherry — one  asked  the  other  to  pull  one,  but  he  -^ 

would  not — then  he  told  him  to  touch  it,  and  see  how  nice  and  | 

big  it  was,  which  he  did — when  he  had  it  in  his  hand,  the  other  ""* 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION.  191 

pushed  his  arm,  and  the  cherry  came  off — the  little  boy  was  much 
afraid,  and  cried — the  bigger  one  picked  it  up  and  divided  it,  and 
told  him  to  say  nothing  about  it. 

The  Dis-  By-and-bye  the   teacher  missed    the   cherry,   and 

asked  some  of  the  children,  but  they  could  not  tell 
him  of  it — he  asked  the  bigger  of  the  two  boys,  who  hesitated, 
and  at  length  blamed  his  companion — the  little  boy  was  going  to 
be  punished,  but  when  the  teacher  asked  him,  he  told  the  whole 
truth. 

Which  of  the  two  do  you  think  should  have  been 
reIthLi?di"      punished  ?  why  ?    The  little  boy  actually  broke  it  off, 

but  he  could  not  help  it — he  did  not  know  what  was  g 
coming — dishonesty  of  big  boy,  and  then,  when  the  master  asked,  § 
he  told  a  lie.     It  was  a  lie,  even  though  he  himself  did  not  pull  it. 
This  shows  us  that  we  may  tell  a  lie,  when  our  words  may  state 
truly  what  took  place.     Children  sometimes  tell  lies  in  this  way. 

What  would  the  rest  of  the  children  think  of  the 

L?ssocni?al    b°y  who  told  the  lie  ?  Would  they love  him  ?  trust  g 

him  ?    Would  God  be  pleased  ?  what  does  he  wish  us  g 
to  do?     He  will  bless  the  child  who  speaks  truth.     Let  us  always  «> 
tell  the  truth,  then,  even  though  it  may  lead  us  into  punishment.  <3 
Our  hearts  will  tell  us  we  have  done  right,  and  all  that  know  us 
will  think  well  of  us. 

Point  to,  and   have   repeated,  the    Scripture   maxim  on  truth. 
Repeat  the  prayer  against  lying  (§  207).* 

206.  Exercises  of  devotion  are  the  practical 
vo^ions'.1  De~  recognition  of  all  we  learn  regarding  religion. 
Of  course  no  infant  school  is  opened  or  closed 
for  the  day  without  them  ;  but  perhaps  more  fruit  might 
be  reaped  from  them  than  is  often  attempted.  They  in- 
clude two  parts,  sacred  song  and  prayer.  For  the  former; 
the  children  should  learn  a  few  hymns,  or  verses  of  hymns, 
suited  to  their  capacity,  after  due  explanation  of  their  cpn~ 


IQ2  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

tents.  To  all,  particular  tunes  should  be  attached  ;  and, 
after  they  have  been  learned,  they  should  never  be  sung 
simply  as  singing  exercises;  a  feeling  of  solemnity  must 
attach  to  them.  For  the  latter,  it  is  common  to  use  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  both  in  the  morning  and  the  afternoon,  hav- 
ing it  repeated  simultaneously  by  the  children  in  a  becom- 
ing posture  and  manner.  This  is  very  proper  ;  but  it  is  de- 
sirable that  other  forms  of  prayer  should  be  lodged  in  the 
children's  minds  ;  short,  simple,  and  expressing  each  a  sin- 
gle want.  They  should  be  called  on  to  repeat  these  dur- 
ing the  day's  work,  as  occasion  may  suit,  that  they  may 
both  acquire  the  spirit  of  prayer,  and  become  familiar  with 
its  proper  elements.  The  following  are  offered  as  speci- 
mens for  the  elder  infants ;  and  the  teacher  may  construct 
others  for  himself : 


MORNING  PRAYER. 

207.  O  God,  Thou  hast  been  very  good  to  me 

Examples  of    ,  ,       ,  .,  T1  i-j'j  j 

Prayers  suit-  through  the  night.     I  have  laid  me  down  and 

InflrJschool.  slept,  for  Thou  hast  kept  me-      KeeP  me  through 

this  day.  May  I  ever  think  "  Thou,  God,  seest 
me."  May  I  do  what  is  right.  May  I  obey  my  parents  and 
teachers.  May  I  be  kind  to  my  companions  and  to  all.  O 
God,  help  me  to  be  good,  as  Jesus  was.  Amen, 


EVENING   PRAYER. 

O  God,  Thou  hast  kept  me  safely  through  this  day  :  and 
I  thank  Thee.  O  God,  who  lovest  little  children,  Thou  hast 
given  me  what  I  need :  food  to  nourish  me,  a  house  to 
shelter  me,  and  friends  to  love  me.  Help  me  to  think  of 
Thee  more,  and  to  do  what  Thou  desirest  me.  Watch  over 
me  in  my  sleep,  O  God,  for  Jesus'  sake,  Amen, 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION.  193 


A   PRAYER   FOR   FRIENDS. 

O  my  God,  all  good  things  come  from  Thee.  Thou  hast 
made  me,  and  Thou  keepest  me  by  day  and  by  night.  Thou 
hast  given  me  father  and  mother,  and  sister  and  brother, 
and  friends,  to  love  me  and  watch  over  me.  O  God,  do 
Thou  bless  them.  Give  me  a  good  heart  that  I  may  love 
them  and  be  kind  to  them.  And  do  Thou  help  us  all  to  do 
Thy  will,  as  Jesus  did.  Amen. 


FOR  A  SICK  CHILD. 

O  our  Heavenly  Father,  be  kind  to  our  sick  companion. 
Thou  hast  done  this :  Thou  knowest  what  is  good  for  us 
all.  Thy  will  be  done.  Be  Thou,  O  God,  near  him,  and 
give  him  rest.  May  he  feel  Thee  beside  him,  and  be  at 
peace.  Comfort  his  friends  who  are  watching  him.  Re- 
store him  to  us,  if  it  please  Thee,  O  God,  for  Jesus'  sake. 
Amen. 


FOR  THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

O  God,  Thou  hast  given  us  Thy  Holy  Word  to  tell  us 
what  is  right,  and  we  thank  Thee.  Thou  hast  sent  Jesus, 
Thy  Son,  to  bless  us.  Thou  hast  told  us  of  heaven  where 
we  shall  dwell  with  Thee,  if  we  are  good.  Thou  hast  told 
us  to  put  away  sin  :  O  God,  help  us  \  May  all  the  children 
in  the  world  soon  hear  of  Thee,  and  of  Thy  Son,  and  of 
Heaven  ;  so  that  they  may  put  away  sin.  And  then  we  shall 
all  serve  Thee  together,  for  Thou  art  our  Father  in  Heaven, 
who  lovest  us  all.  O  God,  hear  us!  O  God,  save  us  !  O 
God,  let  all  the  world  soon  know  Thee  and  Thy  Son  !  for 
Jesus'  sake.  Amen. 
13 


194  EARLY  EDUCATION. 


AGAINST   LYING. 

O  God,  Thou  hatest  lying  lips.  I  have  sometimes  said 
that  which  was  not  true  ;  make  me  sorry  for  it,  and  do 
Thou  forgive  me.  Help  me  to  tell  the  truth  at  all  times,  to 
my  parents,  my  teachers,  and  my  companions :  for  this  is 
pleasing  to  Thee,  O  God.  When  I  am  tempted  to  tell  a 
lie,  may  I  remember  that  Thou  art  near  me,  and  hearest 
what  I  say.  Grant  this,  O  God,  for  Jesus'  sake.  Amen. 

It  is  well  that  the  children  should  learn  some  prayers  like 
these  to  say  by  themselves.  In  addition  to  this,  they  may 
often  repeat  after  the  teacher  short  ejaculatory  prayers,  in 
keeping  with  the  subject  of  the  lesson,  consisting  of  a 
single  sentence  ;  without  formally  learning  them.  This  will 
give  them  the  habit  of  prayer  and  the  benefits  which  result 
from  a  prayerful  frame  of  mind. 


PART  III. 

ELEMENTS  OF  CRITICISM  AS  APPLIED  TO  TEACH- 
ING AND  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 


CHAPTER    I. 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF   LESSON-GIVING. 

208.  IN  giving  a  brief  view  of  the  elements 
thenfirstSrV-S  of  criticism  as  applicable  to  the  practice  of 
L^son!"  a  teaching,  it  is  desirable  to  assign  to  them  no 
higher  importance  than  what  properly  belongs 
to  them.  It  is  for  the  most  part  points  of  form  with  which 
they  deal ;  and  the  greatest  attention  to  these,  whilst  it  is 
highly  necessary  and  becoming,  will  not  of  itself  make  a  good 
teacher.  Let  it  be  said,  then,  at  the  outset  of  this  chapter, 
that  the  first  requirement  of  an  infant-school  lesson  is  that 
it  be  interesting.  Interest  is  the  life  of  teaching.  It  is  an 
antecedent  consideration  to  all  rules  of  form.  If  the  teacher 
show  that  sympathy  with  the  children  and  that  tact  in  ad- 
dressing them  which  enable  him  to  engage  their  attention, 
his  lessons  will  be  very  gently  criticised  in  other  respects. 
But  nothing  can  compensate  for  the  absence  of  interest; 
not  the  most  elaborate  design,  the  most  symmetrical  struc- 
ture, the  most  faultless  language  and  posture.  If  this  be 
understood,  the  teacher  may  go  on  to  study  the  following 
precepts. 


196  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

The  "Plan"  209.  Every  lesson  must  have  a  design,  both 
m  a  Lesson.  generai  ancj  special.  Suppose  the  lesson  is  on 
a  "  pin,"  it  must  be  viewed  (i)  as  one  of  a  series  of  lessons 
designed  to  exercise  the  perceptive  power  of  the  child,  and 
(2)  as  an  individual  lesson,  designed  to  leave  on  his  mind 
the  impression  of  the  particular  thing  (a  pin).  Unless  there 
be  a  distinct  aim,  and  a  distinct  conception  of  the  steps  by 
which  this  aim  is  to  be  attained,  no  training  is  imparted. 

210.  Lessons  should  be  so  constructed  that 
from°theUre  the  minds  of  the  children  shall  immediately 
unknown.**16  come  mto  contact  with  something  they  have 
observed  and  can  sympathize  with.  By  excit- 
ing their  activity  this  at  once  excites  their  interest.  It 
serves  a  double  purpose :  (i)  it  engages  their  attention  for 
the  new  matter  that  is  to  follow,  and  (2)  it  becomes  the 
means  for  explaining  it.  There  is  no  stereotyped  plan, 
therefore,  even  for  lessons  of  the  same  kind.  On  an  ani- 
mal, for  instance,  we  may  begin  with  its  "  structure"  and 
"  parts,"  and  then  consider  its  "  habits,"  as  in  the  case  of 
the  sheep,  cow,  or  other  domestic  animal ;  but  we  may,  in 
some  cases,  find  it  best  to  begin  with  the  "  habits"  before 
we  examine  the  "  structure,"  as  with  the  wolf,  camel,  and 
most  of  the  non-domestic  animals.  The  same  difference 
holds  in  lessons  upon  things  :  with  "  salt,"  or  "  coal,"  or 
"  glass,"  we  may  begin  with  "  uses  ;"  whilst  with  "  sealing- 
wax,"  "  gold,"  or  "  pepper,"  we  may  begin  with  "  qualities." 
The  teacher  should  uniformly  ask  himself  this  question  be- 
fore arranging  his  materials — What  is  it  that  the  children 
are  likely  to  know  of  the  particular  thing  ? — and  he  should 
connect  with  that  all  he  intends  to  say. 

Beginning        211'  APart  from  the  arrangement  of  the  les- 

middie,  and '  son  with   respect    to  the  succession   of  ideas, 

there   is  a   conventional   view  of    it   which   it 

serves  some  purpose  to  take.     We  may  recognize  in  a  lesson 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  LESSON-GIVING.  197 

three  distinct  parts,  with  differeat  functions — the  begin- 
ning, the  middle,  and  the  end.  The  beginning,  or  introduc- 
tion, is  especially  designed  to  arouse  the  attention  of  the 
pupils.  It  gives  them  the  key-note  of  the  lesson  ;  and  the 
teacher  should  be  accordingly  very  careful  in  striking  it. 
It  should  be  bold  or  picturesque ;  either  imaginative  in  its 
complexion,  or  calling  the  children  to  some  exercise  of 
activity.  The  middle  is  the  lesson  strictly  so  called.  The 
end,  or  conclusion,  is  designed  to  apply  what  has  been 
taught  in  the  lesson  ;  shortness,  clearness,  and  force  in  per- 
sonal appeal  should  be  its  features. 

Faults  in  ^^'  Elaborate  and  pretentious  plans  are  to 
the  Plan  of  a  be  avoided.  A  lesson  .is  not  a  treatise;  and 
effect  is  not  to  be  sacrificed  to  logic.  The  aim 
of  the  teacher  should  be,  not  to  say  all  that  can  be  said  on 
the  subject,  but  only  what  the  children  can  profitably  re- 
ceive. Each  act  of  instruction  should  leave  them  with  the 
desire  for  a  continuance  of  it,  for  which  purpose  it  should 
just  be  a  narrow  outline,  clearly  put  and  happily  illustrated. 

Notes  of  213.  It  is  a  good  practice  for  the  young 
Lessons.  teacher  to  prepare  a  sketch,  or  what  is  called 
"notes,"  of  his  lesson  beforehand.  He  may  hope  by  so 
doing  to  communicate  his  instruction  with  greater  confi- 
dence and  clearness.  This  sketch  should  contain  merely 
the  heads  of  the  lesson,  and  any  illustration  which  he  in- 
tends to  use  under  each.  The  notes  should  be  lodged  in 
his  mind,  however ;  the  freedom  necessary  to  a  successful 
infant-school  lesson  is  quite  incompatible  with  frequent 
reference  to  a  written  plan. 

Undue  dis-  214.  The  "  plan"  of  a  lesson,  it  must  be  under- 
piayofpian.  stood>  is  for  the  teacher,  and  not  for  the  chil- 
dren. There  is  a  great  difference  between  having  a  plan 
and  making  a  show  of  it.  Whilst,  therefore,  lessons  must 


198  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

be  logically  constructed,  there  must  be  no  parade  of  con- 
struction. A  lesson  may  be  compared  to  the  scene  upon  a 
stage,  which  has  two  sides ;  on  the  one,  some  pictorial 
effect  designed  for  the  audience  ;  on  the  other,  the  several 
parts  of  the  mechanism  by  which  it  is  held  together,  to  be 
handled  by  the  machinist. 

The  "Work-  215.  In  working  out  a  lesson — which  is  the 
LSson— °fa  real  difficulty — it  is  taken  for  granted  that  there 
Regularity.  js  reguiarity  of  procedure  from  part  to  part.  If 
the  teacher  have  presence  of  mind  and  a  firm  grasp  of  his 
subject,  this  will  follow  as  a  matter  of  course.  Somewhat 
more  difficult  is  it  to  preserve  the  proportion  of  treatment 
amongst  the  parts.  For  this  purpose  the  teacher  must 
have  the  whole  plan  of  his  lesson  at  every  moment  in  his 
mind's  eye,  so  that  he  may  see  how  far  he  has  come,  and 
how  far  he  has  still  to  go. 

inteiii-  216.  The   lesson  must  be  wrought  out  with 

gence.  intelligence.     It   is   easier  to  say  when  this  is 

absent,  and  how  the  absence  shows  itself,  than  to  give  any 
directions  for  exhibiting  it.  If  the  teacher  is  not  of  a  prac- 
tical turn  of  mind,  he  will  probably  present  his  subject  to 
the  children  in  a  strange,  unpractical  way,  not  giving  it  any 
connection  with  what  they  daily  observe  and  think  about. 
If  he  has  no  perception  of  the  characteristics  of  childhood, 
he  will  try  to  put  his  own  ideas  of  the  subject  into  their 
minds,  instead  of  getting  them  to  form  their  own  from 
his  materials.  If  he  be  the  slave  of  rules,  his  instruction 
will  be  dry  and  pedantic — a  skeleton  instead  of  a  living 
frame,  destitute  of  any  human  interest.  In  all  these  cases 
the  teacher  gives  his  lesson  without  intelligence  or  com- 
mon-sense— does  not  address  the  children  in  a  natural  man- 
ner— is  not  really  in  conversation  with  them, 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  LESSON-GIVING.  199 

Two  oppo-  217.  The  child's  mind  must  be  active  through- 
tiV  Manner111  out  the  lesson  ;  whatever  prevents  this  is  a 
of  Address.  fault  in  teaching.  A  iesson  should,  therefore, 
not  be  given  by  direct  address,  or  in  the  form  of  lecture ; 
for  whilst  this  communicates  ample  materials  for  thought,  it 
gives  the  class  no  opportunity  of  exercising  their  minds  on 
what  is  communicated.  Accordingly,  attention  is  never 
sustained  in  this  way.  A  fault  of  an  opposite  kind,  and  not 
less  common,  is  too  exclusive  questioning.  This  gives  the 
class  ample  opportunity  for  thinking,  but  communicates  no 
materials  for  thought.  The  children  are  addressed  as  if 
they  had  prepared  the  subject  and  were  undergoing  exam- 
ination, which  is  in  no  respect  the  ideal  of  an  infant-school 
lesson.  A  very  few  questions  given  in  this  spirit  exhaust 
their  attention.  We  must  preserve  a  medium  between  these 
two  extremes.  We  shall  not  greatly  err  if  we  make  our  les- 
son literally  a  conversation.  To  this  there  are  two  parties, 
standing  for  the  time  on  the  same  level,  mutually  supporting 
and  sympathizing  with  each  other,  the  obligation  to  listen  as 
well  as  to  speak  being  the  same  on  both.  Exclusive  lecturing 
or  exclusive  questioning  places  a  gap  between  the  teacher  and 
the  children  which  bars  this  mutual  support  and  sympathy. 
A  successful  lesson  exhibits  direct  communication  of  facts  and 
questioning  intermingled.  What  the  child  can  discover  for 
himself  he  should  by  no  means  be  told  ;  but  he  cannot  dis- 
cover everything.  It  is  a  waste  of  time,  and  the  misappre- 
hension of  a  sound  rule,  to  act  as  if  he  could.*  In  almost 
all  lessons  beyond  the  very  earliest  series,  the  groundwork 
of  instruction  will  have  to  be  communicated.  This  must  be 
done  by  graphic  description.  The  art  of  the  teacher  is 
shown  in  communicating  no  more  than  what  is  indispens- 
able, and  in  communicating  it  as  materials  out  of  which  the 
children  are  to  form  their  own  thoughts  under  his  guidance. 
This  communication  should  never  be  long,  and  it  is  never 
necessary  that  it  should  be  long  on  any  one  topic.  There 


200  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

are  always  at  hand  familiar  analogies,  by  means  of  which 
the  aid  of  the  children  may  be  called  in  either  to  initiate  or 
to  complete  the  description.  The  teacher  should  be  careful 
to  encourage  spontaneous  action  on  the  part  of  the  children 
by  listening  to  what  they  have  to  say;  and,  even  when 
their  answers  are  only  partially  right,  by  accepting  with  ap- 
proval the  amount  of  truth  which  may  be  in  them,  and  ex- 
panding that  with  the  help  of  the  class,  or  the  pupil  him- 
self, till  it  reach  the  full  truth  of  the  case. 

On  niustra-  218.  The  intellectual  feature  in  a  lesson  which 
tion.  beyond  all  others  makes  it  attractive  is  happy 

illustration.  To  be  successful  this  must  be  apposite,  i.e., 
bearing  directly  on  the  point  to  be  illustrated,  clearly  put  so 
that  it  may  be  really  an  illustration,  and  interesting,  /.<?., 
drawn  from  some  case  falling  within  the  sympathies  of  the 
children.  Illustration  is  of  two  kinds,  verbal  and  pictorial. 

Verbal  ii-  219.  Verbal  illustration  must  be  distinguished 
lustration.  from  explanation.  "Suffer  little  children  to 
come  unto  me  and  forbid  them  not :"  this  is  explained 
when  it  is  said  that  "  suffer  "  means  to  "  let"  or  to  "  allow  ;" 
and  that  "  forbid  "  means  to  "  hinder"  or  "  prevent."  It  is  il- 
lustrated when  a  familiar  example  of  "  suffering"  or  "  forbid- 
ding" is  set  before  the  children,  as  in  lesson,  §  203. — "  What- 
soever a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap  :"  this  is 
explained  when  it  is  said  to  mean  that  a  man  will  reap  the 
consequences  of  his  actions,  and  that  these  consequences 
will  correspond  to  the  actions.  It  is  illustrated  by  tracing 
the  operations  of  the  husbandman,  who  sows  his  seed  of 
wheat  or  corn,  expecting  that  in  spring  his  crop  will  be  of 
wheat  or  corn. — A  teacher,  in  giving  a  lesson  on  the  sugar- 
cane, had  occasion  to  use  the  word  impurities  to  denote 
chips  of  cane,  dust,  etc.,  which  have  to  be  skimmed  off  in 
boiling  down  the  sugar-cane.  She  just  told  the  children 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  LESSON-GIVING.  201 

that  a  great  deal  of  straw  and  dust  mingled  with  the  juice, 
and  that  these  impurities  had  to  be  taken  off.  Another  ap- 
proached this  word  in  a  different  way;  she  referred  them  to 
what  they  had  seen  at  home  in  the  making  of  jelly.  Another 
referred  them  to  the  straining  of  milk  ;  another  spoke  of 
turbid  water,  which  becomes  clear  when  allowed  to  be  still. 
The  first  process  is  one  of  explanation  ;  the  other  three  are 
illustrations.  Explanation  appeals  to  the  understanding 
alone,  and  is  therefore  not  suitable  to  the  infant  school 
(§47) ;  it  is  by  illustration  alone,  which  appeals  to  the  obser- 
vation, that  ideas  are  conveyed  to  the  child's  mind. 

Pictorial  220.  Pictures  are  very  useful  for  illustrating 
boardnfus-  all  kinds  of  lessons,  particularly  lessons  on 
tration.  Scripture  incidents  and  object  lessons  on  nat- 

ural history.  They  do  not  relieve  the  teacher,  however, 
from  the  necessity  of  using  ample  verbal  illustration.  The 
picture  should,  as  a  rule,  not  be  introduced  at  the  beginning 
of  the  lesson.  When  interest  has  been  roused  by  appeal  to 
the  children's  imagination,  they  will  scrutinize  it  more 
minutely  when  they  are  asked  to  compare  the  idea  they 
have  themselves  formed  of  the  object  with  its  representa- 
tion in  the  picture.  It  is  better  not  to  have  the  pictures 
suspended  on  the  school-walls  till  they  have  been  used  for 
lessons  in  this  way.  After  they  have  been  made  symbols  by 
having  instruction  attached  to  them,  the  children  may  be 
allowed  to  see  them  for  a  time,  to  become  familiar  with 
them;  but  as  far  as  possible  they  should  be  new  to  the 
children  when  first  used  in  illustration  of  lessons.  Pictures 
do  not  supersede  the  use  of  sketching  on  the  black-board, 
as  is  sometimes  thought.  The  teacher  who  can  draw  the 
outlines, .say  of  an  animal  or  a  tree,  or  any  familiar  object, 
has,  in  the  mere  act  of  constructing  the  figure  under  the 
eyes  of  the  children,  a  resource  for  engaging  their  interest 
quite  distinct  from  that  which  a  picture  affords. 


202  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

The  use  of       221.  Illustration  serves  the  purpose  of  defini- 

Definitions.      tjon  jn  the  jnfant  school<      If  a  child   js  asked> 

What  is  a  good  boy  ?  he  answers  that  it  is  one  who  does 
not  lie,  or  who  obeys  his  parents,  or  who  loves  God.  His 
rriind  naturally  turns  to  the  concrete,  for  he  has  experience 
of  that.  Definitions  are  from  their  nature  abstract ;  stand- 
ing alone,  they  have  no  meaning  to  the  child.  They  cannot 
be  dispensed  with  in  teaching,  but  the  teacher  must  ob- 
serve for  himself  when  his  class  is  capable  of  any  particular 
definition ;  and  he  will  give  it  not  at  the  beginning  of  his 
lesson,  but  towards  the  end,  after  illustration. 

The  Means      ^^*  ^e  degree   of   impression    made   by  a 
of  impressing  lesson,  in   so  far  as  that  is  influenced   by  the 

Instruction.  -       .    .          .       , 

manner  of  giving  it,  depends  on  two  circum- 
stances. On  the  one  hand  the  successive  topics  must  be 
clearly  and  forcibly  stated,  and  dwelt  upon  for  a  sufficient 
length  of  time  to  enable  the  child's  mind  to  grasp  them.  It 
is  a  frequent  fault  in  lessons  to  introduce  topics  apparently 
only  for  the  sake  of  leaving  them,  or  to  pass  from  topic  to 
topic,  in  a  way  which  leaves  the  children  unaware  that  a 
new  one  has  been  introduced.  It  is  impossible  that  lessons 
so  destitute  of  character  can  make  any  lasting  impression. 
The  teacher  should  advert  to  nothing  which  he  cannot  press 
home  by  illustration. 

On  Repeti-       223.  The  other  means  for  making  a  lesson  im- 
tlon<  pressive  is  repetition.     The  concluding  part  of 

the  lesson  is  generally  devoted  to  a  recapitulation  of  the 
leading  points ;  but  opportunities  for  incidental  repetition 
continually  occur  in  course  of  the  lesson  itself.  Repetition 
is  essential  to  the  whole  of  elementary  teaching ;  particu- 
larly so  in  the  infant  school,  where  everything  is  new  to  the 
children,  and  where  their  minds  have  so  little  power  of  ten- 
sion. Every  fact  communicated  should  be  repeated  more 


ON  THE  LANGUAGE  OF  TEACHING.  203 

than  once  in  one  form  or  other;  and  nothing  should  be 
told  which  is  not  worthy  of  this  frequent  repetition.  There 
are  two  ways  of  repeating ;  the  direct  and  the  indirect. 
Both  are  necessary.  In  the  former  the  thing  is  repeated  in 
the  precise  form  in  which  it  was  before  communicated ;  the 
design  being  simply  to  impress  the  memory.  In  the  latter 
the  thing  is  repeated  in  another  form  ;  the  class  are  got  to 
express  from  one  point  of  view  what  was  communicated 
from  another.  Besides  appealing  to  the  memory,  this  pro- 
cess exercises  the  minds  of  the  class  ;  it  is,  in  great  part, 
the  educating  process  in  every  lesson.  The  tact  of  the 
teacher  has  great  room  to  show  itself  in  this  indirect  repeti- 
tion. 

The  uiti-  ^^*  "  What  are  the  children  likely  to  carry 
mate  Test  of  away  of  this  lesson  ?"  is  a  question  the  teacher 
should  always  be  putting  to  himself.  It  is  the 
ultimate  test  pf  a  lesson ;  for  they  will  carry  away  what 
they  have  been  told  only  in  so  far  as  they  have  been  inter- 
ested and  their  minds  exercised. 


CHAPTER   II. 

ON   THE   LANGUAGE  OF  TEACHING. 

225.  As  language  is  the  medium  through 
ofSL?nguage.  which  lessons  are  conveyed,  the  nature  of  the 
language  employed  is  an  important  element  in 
successful  lessons.  The  recommendations  of  style  are  the 
same  in  teaching  as  for  any  purpose.  First  of  all,  the 
teacher's  language  should  be  simple  ;  simple  both  in  respect 
of  individual  words  and  of  the  structure  of  sentences.  The 
Saxon  part  of  English  is,  characteristically,  our  mother 


204  EARLY  EDUCATION'. 

tongue ;  it  is  that  part  which  should  be  used  in  the  infant 
school,  so  far  as  it  goes.  Style  is  not  made  simple  by  the 
use  of  monosyllables  ;  nor  is  anything  gained,  but  the  con- 
trary, by  always  affecting  to  talk  to  children  in  monosylla- 
bles. Words  of  two  and  of  three  syllables  are  quite  in- 
telligible, provided  the  thing  has  been  illustrated  before  its 
symbol  is  given.  Sentences  of  intricate  structure  should 
not  be  used,  even  though  their  several  parts  are  quite  clear  ; 
the  children  cannot  follow  the  chajn  of  their  connection. 
Simplicity  of  style  is  not  to  be  attained  in  teaching  without 
study  and  practice ;  if  it  were,  it  would  not  be  a  virtue  in 
style,  instead  of  being,  as  it  is,  one  of  the  highest. 

Precision  ^^'  ^^e  teac^er's  language  should  be  pre- 
cise ;  in  other  words,  should  express  neither 
more  nor  less  than  the  ideas  he  intends  to  convey.  Failing 
this,  he  is  obliged  to  repeat  himself.  An  excess  of  words 
has  an  injurious  effect  on  a  lesson  ;  it  almost  always  ob- 
scures and  confuses  instead  of  illustrating.  It  is  only  when 
his  style  is  precise  that  the  teacher  can  afford  to  dispense 
with  this  unsatisfactory  verbal  repetition.* 

Fluenc  ^'*  ^  ready  command  over  language  is  in- 

dispensable to  the  teacher.  Breaks  in  the  pro- 
gress of  a  lesson  disturb  the  attention  by  shaking  the  confi- 
dence of  a  class.  Further,  the  same  point  has  often  to  be 
presented  in  different  lights  to  suit  different  capacities  ? 
which  cannot  be  done  without  ready  power  of  speech. 

228.  In   striving  to  be  familiar,  the   teacher 
Correctness  must  preserve  correctness  of  style.     Slang1  or 

ot  t«nuncia-  •  . 

tion,  Gram-  cant  phrases  must  be  scrupulously  avoided.  He 
pres'sion.  X"  should  raise  up  the  children  to  his  level  in 
purity  of  speech  rather  than  descend  to  theirs. 
Nor  must  strict  grammatical  correctness  be  sacrificed  under 
the  notion  of  attaining  greater  familiarity.  It  is  by  imita- 


ON  THE  LANGUAGE  OF  TEACHING.          205 

tion  that  the  children  learn  to  speak :  so  far  as  the  school 
is  concerned,  therefore,  they  should  have  correct  models  be- 
fore them.  And  the  teacher  should  make  a  point  of  uni- 
formly correcting  any  incorrect  expressions  used  by  the 
children,  whether  in  pronunciation,  grammar,  or  idiom. 

229.  Distinctness    and    force  of    articulation 
Mldufa?ion.    having  been  previously  insisted   on  (§  187),  it 

remains  only  to  notice  the  tone  and  modula- 
tion proper  to  the  teacher's  language.  The  tones  of  the 
voice  are  very  expressive  of  the  state  of  the  mind  and  affec- 
tions. A  lesson  should  resemble  a  conversation  in  this  re- 
spect. If  there  is  mutual  confidence  and  interest  in  the 
subject,  the  voice  will  naturally  modulate  itself,  so  as  to 
produce  the  effect  of  light  and  shade.  Children  feel  that  in 
the  tones  of  the  teacher's  voice  which  encourages  them  to 
respond  to  what  he  says.  Monotony  is  quite  incompatible 
with  interest  and  freedom  ;  and,  therefore,  is  always  a  cause 
of  failure  in  a  lesson.  Children  read  accurately  the  moral 
aspect  of  the  tones  of  the  voice ;  these  are  a  reflection  of 
the  temper  of  the  speaker.  It  is  difficult  or  impossible  to 
give  a  successful  lesson  with  a  feigned  good-temper.  The 
living  voice  has  great  power  with  the  child  ;  it  is  the  em- 
blem of  life  itself,  ebbing  and  flowing  with  the  tide  of 
thought  and  feeling  within.  Now  it  is  high,  now  low;  now 
regular  and  measured,  now  bold  and  impulsive;  now  light, 
cheerful,  and  rapid,  again  slow  and  solemn. 

230.  The  habitual  tone  of  the  voice  in  teach- 
Loudnlsasnd     inS  should   not   be  higher  than    is  absolutely 

necessary.  Noise  is  a  very  common  fault  in 
infant  schools,  which  is  encouraged  by  loud  speaking  on 
the  part  of  the  teacher.  This  is  frequently  confounded 
with  animation  ;  but  it  is  a  very  different  thing  from  ani- 
mation, and  by  no  means  necessary  to  it.  The  work  goes 


2o6  EARLY  EDUCATION-. 

on  far  more  effectively,  and  with  better  moral  effect  on  the 
children,  not  to  say  with  less  exhaustion  to  the  teacher, 
when  it  is  conducted  quietly  and  gently  ;  and  the  discipline 
of  the  school  will  also  be  higher. 


CHAPTER   III. 

ON   QUESTIONING. 

231.  THE  recognized  form  of  school-teaching 
individual    is  by   question   and  answer.      In  the  common 
cmiySpartiafiy  school,  the  teacher  engages  one  pupil  at  a  time 
th^iSfant in  directl7 ;  but»  if  he  is  skilful,  the  minds  of  all 
School.  are  at  work  during   his  intercourse   with  this 

one.  Externally  viewed,  the  questioning  is  in- 
dividual, and  therefore  addressed  to  consecutive  pupils. 
This  is  not  felt  to  be  irksome  in  an  advanced  class ;  for 
their  power  of  attention  is  more  or  less  developed.  It  is 
different  in  the  infant  school.  Here  the  children  must  con- 
stantly have  something  to  do;  they  cannot  attend  when 
they  are  not  engaged  directly;  the  effect  of  the  teacher's 
intercourse  with  them  is  not  felt  over  the  mass  unless  all 
are  addressed  together.  Further,  the  individual  pupil  is 
not  mentally- strong  enough  to  stand  apart  from  his  neigh- 
bors ;  he  requires  the  encouragement  that  flows  from 
mutual  support ;  he  is  but  part  of  a  whole,  whether  intel- 
lectually or  morally  considered  ;  timid  and  feeble  alone,  he 
is  bold  only  when  all  act  together.  Sympathy  is  the  condi- 
tion of  the  whole  infant-school  action  ;  and  the  teacher 
must  work  by  it  in  his  questioning. 


ON  QUESTIONING.  207 

The  influ-        232.    There  is  a  sympathy  which    binds  the 

ence  of  Sym- 
pathy, children    together    amongst    themselves;    and 

there  is  a  sympathy  which  binds  them  to  the  teacher.  Both 
of  these  sympathies  influence  the  manner  of  the  teacher's 
address  to  them ;  the  one  suggests  the  propriety  of  simul- 
taneous questioning,  the  other  of  elliptical  questioning. 

233.  By  simultaneous   questioning  is   meant 

Simultane- 
ous Question-  questioning  addressed  to  the  whole  class  ;  ques- 
tioning to  which  the  answering  is  simultaneous, 
within  certain  limits.  It  is  not  implied  or  expected — 
indeed,  it  is  not  possible,  that  all  the  pupils  shall  always 
answer.  They  have  different  temperaments,  and  differ- 
ent degrees  of  mental  power.  Some  will  answer  one 
kind  of  questions,  some  another;  sometimes  only  two 
or  three  may  answer;  but  all  have  the  opportunity. 
Questions  must  be  given  to  suit  all  capacities.  The  danger  is 
that  they  be  one-sided,  and  only  engage  a  certain  part  of  the 
class ;  who  will  thus  do  all  the  work,  the  rest  being  content 
to  be  silent.  The  teacher's  observation  of  his  class  will  tell 
where  to  expect  the  initiative  of  the  answers  to  particular 
questions,  and  where  it  will  be  necessary  to  impress  the 
answers  by  indirect  repetition.  Frequently  all  who  can 
answer  should  be  allowed  to  do  so  ;  but  not  always.  The  class 
should  be  accustomed  to  hold  their  hands  out  when  they 
can  reply  to  a  question,  and  the  teacher  will  select  who  is 
to  answer.  The  occasions  for  doing  this  depend  on  the  na- 
ture of  the  probable  answer.  Uniform  promiscuous  answer- 
ing is  not  contemplated  when  we  speak  of  this  simultaneous 
questioning  ;  it  will  lead  to  confusion.  All,  who  can,  pro- 
vide themselves  with  an  answer  ;  one  or  two,  or  any  section 
of  the  class,  will  give  it,  at  the  teacher's  discretion.  Thus 
individual  answering  is  mingled  with  the  simultaneous.  The 
only  case  in  which  a  whole  class  or  gallery  gives  one  an- 
swer is  when  the  teacher  wishes  a  certain  answer  to  be  re- 


208  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

peated,  for  the  purpose  of  having  it  impressed  on  the  minds 
of  all. 

234.  Elliptical  questioning  requires  the  chil- 
Eiiipticai     dren  to  complete  a  sense  of  which  the  teacher 

Questioning 

—its  Theory,  has  given  the  greater  part.  Some  use  this  kind 
of  questioning  more  than  others  ;  it  is  a  matter 
of  temperament.  The  ardent  and  sympathetic  use  it  most 
and  succeed  best  with  it.  The  teacher  carries  his  pupils  ' 
along  with  him,  identifies  his  mental  action  with  theirs,  and 
withdraws  his  assistance  just  before  the  end,  trusting  that 
the  impetus  he  has  given  them  will  carry  them  to  the  com- 
pletion. From  the  greater  sympathy  with  them  of  which  it 
is  the  vehicle,  it  contributes  remarkably  to  keep  up  the 
continuity  of  thought  in  a  lesson,  aiding  the  children  in 
paying  the  exactions  made  upon  them.  Altogether,  the  use 
of  it  makes  a  lesson  smoother  and  more  flowing  in  its  pro- 
gress. 

Rules  for  ^^'  ^  This  kind  of  questioning  should  be 
using  Eilip-  given  without  previous  notice.  The  children 
should  supply  what  is  wanting  by  force  of  their 
sympathy  with  what  is  going  on  at  the  time  the  ellipsis 
presents  itself.  The  voice  of  the  teacher  should  not  be 
raised,  or  any  other  sign  given,  when  it  is  coming.  This 
habit  will  break  the  continuity  of  attention,  as  they  will  be 
called  upon  to  think  only  when  the  sign  is  given  them.  (2) 
Elliptical  questions  must  be  constructed  like  other  good 
questioning.  They  must  not  be  merely  verbal;  for  this 
gives  no  mental  exercise.  They  must  not  be  indefinite,  so 
as  to  admit  of  more  than  one  'answer.  They  must  be 
adapted  to  the  capacity  of  the  class,  short  and  easy  at  first, 
and  gradually  increasing  in  difficulty.  As  far  as  possible  the 
teacher  should  manage  to  avoid  failure  on  the  part  of  the 
children  in  filling  them  up.  Whatever  degree  of  difficulty 


TEMPER  AND  MANNER  IN  TEACHING.  209 

they  are  intended  to  be  of,  they  should  be  fairly  put.  The 
common  but  injurious  practice  of  giving  half  of  the  word  to 
be  supplied  must  be  avoided.  When  the  teacher  is  driven 
to  such  an  expedient,  he  should  gather  from  this  that  he  is 
not  conducting  his  elliptical  questioning  with  tact.  (3)  El- 
liptical questioning  is  not  to  be  used  alone  ;  its  design  is 
only  to  relieve  direct  interrogations.  (4)  It  is  not  to  be 
contrasted  with  simultaneous  questioning;  they  harmonize 
perfectly,  and  are  best  given  in  conjunction. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TEMPER  AND   MANNER   IN  TEACHING. 

• 

236.  IN  the  infant  school,  children  take  part  in 
Personal  in-  their  lessons  more  for  the  sake  of  the  person 
Teacher°Ishe  who  gives  these  than  forthe  lessons  themselves, 
thes'uccess  of  ^   more   important   element   in   their  success, 
his  Lessons,    then,  even  than   their  intellectual  character,  is 
the  disposition  the  teacher  bears  to  the  children, 
as  shown  by  his  temper  and  manner.     They  must  have  con- 
fidence  in  him  and  love  him,  in  order  to   profit  by  his  in- 
struction ;  and  they  are  never  deceived  in  the  estimate  they 
form  of  his  disposition  towards  them. 

Cheerful-         237.  Cheerfulness  in  school  has  the  effect  of 
sunshine  on  a  landscape.     It  keeps  the  children 
pleased  with  themselves ;  disposes  them  to   do  their  best ; 
gives  them  a  liking  for  their  work.     A  dry,  morose,  sharp 
manner  shuts  up  their  minds,   so  that  they  will  not  answer 
even  what  they  know.     That  cheerfulness  which  exhibits 
itself  to  the  children  whilst  at  play,  but  not  whilst  at  their 
lessons,  is  spurious,  and  does  not  attain  the  end.     A  genu- 
ine cheerfulness  is  uniform.    The  teacher  must  watch  him- 
14 


210  EARLY  EDUCATION, 

self  when  he  is  tempted  to  depart  from  it :  this  is  perhaps 
the  greatest  test  of  his  self-control.  It  is  certain  that  with- 
out cheerfulness  of  disposition  no  one  can  attain  any  of 
the  ends  of  infant  training. 

238.  Cheerfulness  implies  patience.  The  chil- 
dren are  weak,  and  not  capable  of  great  things. 
The  teacher  must  bear  with  their  weakness,  repeat  his 
illustrations  again  and  again,  and  not  give  way  to  anger 
because  they  cannot  keep  pace  with  him.  Anger  dissipates 
their  self-confidence,  and  quite  incapacitates  them  for  exer- 
tion ;  they  cannot  attend  or  think  when  fear  takes  possession 
of  them.  The  way  in  which  impatience  most  commonly  man- 
ifests itself  is  in  passing  over  the  duller  children.  The 
teacher  has  only  to  meditate  e  little  on  the  nature  of  those 
with  whom  he  is  dealing  to  see  how  unreasonable  this  im- 
patience is. 

Self-posses-  239.  The  learner  may  require  to  be  told  that 
to  give  a  successful  lesson  perfect  self-posses- 
sion is  requisite  in  the  teacher.  Without  this  he  is  too 
much  occupied  in  thinking  of  himself  to  think  of  the  quali- 
ties of  his  lesson.  Different  degrees  of  self-possession  are 
to  be  distinguished.  One  may  be  able  to  adhere  to  the  plan 
of  lesson  he  has  prepared,  yet  with  evident  effort ;  he  is  dis- 
turbed by  any  unusual  external  influence,  and  cannot  diverge 
from  the  straight  path  he  has  laid  down  for  himself-.  A 
higher  degree  of  self-possession  than  this  is  necessary.  He 
must  have  such  command  of  the  lesson  as  not  to  be  under 
the  necessity  of  keeping  his  reflection  constantly  on  the 
stretch  upon  it ;  must  be  able  to  avail  himself  of  any  casual 
illustrations  which  occur  to  him  as  he  proceeds ;  must  not 
be  disturbed  by  the  presence  of  any  one.  Careful  prepara- 
tion is  an  aid  to  this  quality ;  but  practice  in  teaching  alone 
can  secure  it. 


TEMPER  AND  MANNER  IN   TEACHING.  2  I  I 

Enthusi-  240.  Without  perfect  self-possession  there  can 
be  none  of  that  enthusiasm  or  self-abandonment 
which  characterizes  the  best  lessons.  That  power  which 
some  have  of  entering  into  their  subject  and  identifying 
themselves  with  it,  of  teaching  with  their  whole  heart,  from 
the  conviction  that  they  have  something  important  and  in- 
teresting to  communicate,  is  a  step  beyond  mere  self-posses- 
sion ;  but,  in  so  far  as  it  can  be  acquired  at  all,  is  to  be  so 
only  through  this  quality. 

241.  Animation  or  energy  is  an  obvious  re- 

Animation. 

commendation  of  manner  in  teaching.  The 
manifestation  of  this  quality  is  frequently  mistaken.  A 
noisy,  bustling  manner  and  loud  tone  do  not  of  themselves 
constitute  animation.  This  is  essentially  a  mental  quality. 
When  the  teacher  by  activity  of  mind  succeeds  in  engaging 
the  attention  of  the  children,  his  manner  may  be  calm,  but 
he  cannot  be  said  to  be  wanting  in  animation.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  very  unpleasant  to  see  the  external  affectation  of 
energy  without  the  presence  of  the  reality. 

242.  The  most  animated  manner  is  quite  com- 
patible with   propriety  or  decorum.     Attitudes 

and  gestures  must  be  becoming  ;  the  teacher  must  not  toler- 
ate in  himself,  any  more  than  in  his  pupils,  anything  ap- 
proaching to  slovenly  action. 


EARLY  EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PRACTICAL    DISCIPLINE. 

243.  THE  word  "  discipline"  properly  denotes 
Meaning  of  the  whole  influence,  physical,  intellectual,  and 

the  term  r    ' 

"Discipline. "moral,  to  which  a  pupil  is  subjected  in  the 
course  of  education.  But  it  is  sometimes  taken 
in  a  narrower  sense  to  denote  the  influences  which  the 
teacher  employs  to  regulate  the  pupil's  conduct,  in  other 
words,  the  motives  he  presents  to  the  pupil  for  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duty.  In  this  sense  "  discipline"  is  not  only  a 
large  part  of  moral  education,  but  has  a  very  important 
bearing  on  intellectual  progress.  The  motives  it  encourages 
are  being  constantly  encouraged  ;  they  are  appealed  to  in 
every  lesson.  We  must  determine,  then,  what  are  the  mo- 
tives proper  to  be  encouraged,  and  how  they  are  to  be  prac- 
tically appealed  to. 

244.  The   highest  motive  which   a  man  can 
Motives  to   follow  is  the  sense  of  duty  ;  and  in  the  case  of  a 

be  cultivated    ^,     .  ,  ,        ,      r     ,  ,  .,, 

in  the  infant  Christian  man  the  standard  of  duty  is  the  will 
School.  Q£  QO(J      But  thjg  motive  is  a  very  abstract  one  ; 

its  power  is  not  felt  except  as  the  result  of  long 
education.  For  this  reason  it  is  not  a  motive  by  which 
alone  the  work  of  the  infant  school  can  be  conducted.  Till 
it  comes  to  be  felt  as  a  motive,  there  are  three  others  by 
which  we  must  work,  all  pure  and  powerful ;  the  love  of 
activity,  love  for  the  teacher  who  directs  that  activity,  and 
the  sympathy  of  the  school.  Regarding  the  first  we  have 
seen  already  that  the  infant  is  keenly  desirous  of  activity, 


PRACTICAL   DISCIPLINE.  213 

so  much  so  as  to  be  unhappy  when  anything  interferes  with 
it.  Provided,  then,  the  work  in  which  he  is  engaged  is 
suited  to  his  capacity  and  made  interesting,  the  child  re- 
quires no  external  stimulus ;  he  will  give  himself  to  it  for 
its  own  sake.  Regarding  the  second  we  have  seen  that  ( 
jfJove  is  the  first  and  strongest  feeling  in  the  child's  bosom  ; 
love  for  his  parent,  love  for  thje  teacher  who  acts  towards 
him  in  a  parental  spirifr(§  68).  JThis  love  is  essential  to  his 
happiness,  and  it  will  flow  forth  from  the  child  unless  it  be 
positively  repressed  by  the  imprudent  or  unkind  conduct  of 
his  superior.  ^And  this  love  will  lead  the  child  to  self- 
denial  ;  it  will  make  pleasant  to  him  a  path  which  may  have 
no  attractions  in  itself.  There  is  but  one  way  to  draw  forth 
this  love  from  the  child  ;  the  teacher  must  himself  feel  it 
and  show  it  towards  the  child^  Regarding  the  third  mo-  ( 
tive  we  have  already  seen  (§  if)  that  a  good  social  relation  1 
is  necessary  to  the  child's  happiness.  He  cannot  stand 
alone,  isolated  and  independent ;  he  is  swayed  by  the 
opinions  and  influenced  by  the  example  of  the  assemblage 
of  which  he  forms  one.  When  he  is  singled  out  and  ex- 
hibited as  contravening  the  spirit  which  the  whole  school 
recognizes,  and  in  conformity  with  which  all  act,  he  is 
pained,  and  in  a  manner  overwhelmed  ;  no  child  is  so  strong 
as  to  be  able  to  resist  this  ;  a  few,  indeed,  so  bold  as  to  be 
disposed  to  try  resistance.  To  the  teacher,  then,  who  ^\ 
wishes  to  have  complete  command  over  the  children,  and 
to  rule  them  by  an  influence  which  shall  be  indisputably 
salutary  in  its  effects  on  their  moral  character,  we  say  that 
these  three  things  are  to  be  attained  :  (i)  he  must  make  the 
work  interesting,  not  a  task  but  a  pleasure  ;  (2)  he  must 
love  the  children  over  whom  he  is  placed  ;  (3)  he  must  es- 
tablish a  community  of  sentiment  over  the  entire  school.  ; 
Regarding  the  highest  motive  of  all,  the  sense  of  duty,  it  is 
to  be  observed  that,  whilst  from  its  nature  it  does  not  im- 
mediately serve  him,  it  is  his  business  to  develop  it.  The 


214  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

idea  involved  in  the  word  "  ought"  should  grow  up  in  the 
child's  mind  from  the  whole  complexion  of  his  training. 
The  teacher  must  frequently  introduce  it,  adding  it  to  the 
other  motives,  speaking  of  his  own  will  as  a  thing  that  ought 
to  be  obeyed  by  the  children,  and  of  God's  will  as  a  thing 
that  ought  to  be  obeyed  by  all,  and  which  all  who  are  good 
do  obey.  In  this  way  the  children  will  become  familiar 
with  the  full  strength  of  the  obligation  that  lies  in  the  word, 
and,  as  they  grow  older,  will  desire  and  feel  the  need  of  no 
other  obligation. 

Rewards  ^45.  Rewards  and  punishments  are  the  natural 
and  Punish-  sanctions  of  law  ;  they  are  involved  in  the  very 
idea  of  moral  training.  Necessary  in  all  the 
departments  of  human  activity,  they  are  also  necessary  in 
the  infant  school.  If  the  motives  specified  in  the  previous 
section  be  the  proper  ones  to  cherish,  then  the  nature  of 
the  rewards  and  punishments  to  which  we  should  have  re- 
course clearly  follows.  Tlf  the  work  of  the  school  is  made  a 
pleasure  to  the  children,  then  it  is  a  mark  of  the  teacher's 
satisfaction  when  he  allows  any  one  to  continue  to  take 
part  in  it ;  and  a  larger  share,  or  a  peculiar  share,  in  the 
work  of  any  lesson  may  be  easily  made  in  the  eyes  of  the 
child  an  eminent  reward  :  on  the  other  hand,  exclusion  from 
the  work  is  a  means  of  punishment.*.  If  mutual  love  exists 
between  the  teacher  and  his  pupils,  then  the  expression  of 
his  satisfaction  with  a  child  is  reward,  and  the  expression  at 
his  dissatisfaction  is  punishmen^  If  a  feeling  of  sympathy 
be  established  in  the  school,  then  the  manifestation  of  this 
feeling  in  favor  of  a  child  is  reward  ;  and  the  manifestation 
of  it  in  condemning  him  is  punishment.  These  are  rewards 
and  punishments  of  indefinite  power.  Speaking  generally, 
they  are  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  the  infant  school. 
The  children  will  be  not  less  emulous  to  obtain  the  one 
than  to  avoid  the  other. 


PRACTICAL  DISCIPLINE.  215 

"Places"  246.  Various  other  rewards  and  punishments 
not  expedi-  are  commonly  employed ;  but  they  appeal  to 
ent-  motives  of  an  inferior  nature.  The  giving  of 

"  places"  and  of  prizes  is  one  of  these  rewards.  This  prac- 
tice develops  a  particular  phase  jf  emulation.  It  is  liable 
to  two  objections  :  firstTjt  is  narrow  and  indiscriminating  in 
its  application,  rewarding  only  efforts  of  intellect,  and  that 
without  making  allowance  for  the  relative  circumstances  of 
the  children,  or  even  recognizing  all  'the  different  faculties 
by  which  such  efforts  may  be  madej  secondly,  it  tends  to 
obscure  the  higher  mottves  by  which  children  should  be  in- 
fluenced, by  giving  undue  development — so  far  as  it  has  any 
meaning  at  all — to  the  personal  feeling.  For  these  reasons, 
"  places"  should  not  be  allowed  in  the  infant  school  nor 
prizes  given,  it  being  understood,  of  course,  that  the  giving 
of  little  books  or  tickets  to  all  the  children  at  the  end  of 
the  year  does  not  in  any  way  partake  of  the  nature  of  prize- 
giving. 

The  "Sugar-  247.  Another  form  of  reward  may  be  charac- 
fem"1  *  terized  as  bribery.  A  child  is  stubborn,  we  may 
suppose ;  the  teacher  persuades  it  to  do  its  work  by  the 
prospect  of  a  sugar-plum,  or  a  halfpenny,  or  something 
else.  This  practice  is  certainly  more  common  in  the 
domestic  sphere  ;  but  it  is  not  unknown  in  schools.  Now, 
we  do  not  say  that  there  is  no  occasion  on  which  the 
teacher  may  not  with  advantage  give  a  child  a  reward  of 
this  nature  ;  it  might  not  be  unfitting  that  he  should  in  such 
a  way  mark  his  approbation  of  a  child  who  in  his  private 
capacity  has  conquered  some  bad  habit  or  resisted  some  in- 
dividual temptation.  But,  as  a  theory  of  government,  this 
"  sugar-plum"  system  is  most  debasing  in  its  effects  on 
character,  throwing  entirely  into  the  shade  all  the  higher 
motives,  making  the  feeling  of  present  sensuous  pleasure  all- 
powerful,  and  spreading  jealousy  and  discord  through  the 
school.* 


2 1 6  EARL  Y  ED  UCA  T10N. 

Tasks  and        ^®*  ^wo  f°rms  °f  punishment  in  common  use 
Corporal         are  these :  (i)  the  giving  of  tasks  to  be  learned ; 

Punishment.          .     ,  .  ,  .   ,  „,,        ,-          .        , 

and  (2)  corporal  punishment.  The  first  is  ob- 
jectionable in  respect  that  it  directly  associates  the  idea  of 
pain  with  the  ordinary  work  of  the  school,  whereas  the 
great  aim  of  the  teacher  should  be,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
make  that  work  a  pleasure.  How  can  we  call  that  a 
pleasure  which  by  a  certain  little  increase  we  assume  to  be 
a  pain  ? — With  respect  to  corporal  punishment,  we  do  not 
say  that  it  is  never  to  be  had  recourse  to,  and  are  far  from 
taking  the  high  ground  of  denying  the  teacher's  right  to 
have  recourse  to  it.  When  the  parent  delegates  his  child's 
education  to  the  teacher,  by  the  same  act  he  seems  to  dele- 
gate all  his  powers  of  government,  so  that  the  teacher  is  en- 
titled to  use  all  the  measures  which  are  lawful  to  the  parent. 
But  with  both  corporal  punishment  is  quite  an  exceptional 
resource.  Special  cases  may  occur  which  in  which  it  would 
be  the  best  form  of  punishment ;  but  it  must  be  condemned 
when  it  is  a  thing  of  daily  occurrence.  The  chief  practical 
recommendation  of  it  is  the  ease  with  which  it  is  adminis- 
tered :  perhaps  this  should  rather  be  looked  on  as  the  great 
objection  to  it  and  the  great  danger  attending  it.  The 
teacher  who  views  it  as  an  ordinary  resource  is,  to  say  the 
least,  under  very  strong  temptation  to  let  the  higher  mo- 
tives remain  dormant.  Whilst  the  power  of  using  it,  then, 
must  remain  with  the  teacher,  those  are  the  fittest  to  be  in- 
trusted with  it  who  use  it  the  least.  This  much  is  certain  ; 
many  infant  schools  are  conducted  entirely  without  it,  and 
it  will  always  be  found  that  the  discipline  of  these  is  far 
better  than  that  of  schools  where  it  is  a  thing  of  daily  oc- 
currence. 

249.  Expulsion   is   a  punishment  which   de- 

Expulsion.  .  .          r 

serves  a  special  notice.  There  can  be  no  abso- 
lute rule  in  moral  discipline ;  and  cases  may  arise  where 
expulsion  is  necessary  for  the  character  of  the  school.  But 


PRACTICAL  DISCIPLINE.  217 

the  teacher  who  views  it  lightly,  and  reckons  it  among  his 
ordinary  resources,  has  a  very  imperfect  conception  of  the 
functions  of  his  position.  It  is  very  easy  to  expel  a  bad 
child  ;  but  if  we  are  only  to  educate  the  good,  what  is  to 
become  of  the  bad  ?  Is  it  not  they  who  most  need,  a  teach- 
er's labor  ?  When  we  say  that  a  child  is  incorrigible,  that 
only  means  that  our  discipline  has  -not  yet  met  his  case. 
But  it  is  certain  that  there  is  some  way  of  subduing  him,  if 
we  have  only  the  ingenuity  to  discover  it.  Wilderspin  says 
that,  though  some  children  of  peculiar  temperament  gave 
him  much  trouble,  he  finally  got  the  better  of  every  case,  so 
that  there  never  was  any  child  expelled  from  an  infant 
school  under  his  care  ;  and  his  testimony  is  specially  valu- 
able on  such  a  point.*  On  the  whole,  then,  some  teachers 
may,  from  their  limited  powers  of  insight  into  the  young 
heart,  find  it  necessary  to  expel  a  child  to  preserve  the 
others  from  his  bad  influence ;  but  it  is  a  very  extreme  re- 
source,— not  to  be  used,  perhaps,  more  than  once  in  one's 
whole  experience. 

„    ,      _         250.  To"  exercise  a    salutary  discipline,   two 

Marks  of  a  * 

generous  dis-  cautions  are  very  necessary  to  be  borne  in  mind. 
The  one  is  that  the  teacher  should  have  that 
generosity  which  gives  the  children  credit  for  what  good 
things  they  do,  and  puts  the  best  construction  on  acts  which 
are  ambiguous  in  their  aspect.  To  reward  the  right  is  cer- 
tainly as  important  as  to  punish  the  wrong,  and  it  should  be 
more  welcome  to  the  teacher :  in  the  eyes  of  the  children, 
the  one  gives  credit  and  power  to  the  other.  To  construe 
their  motives  and  acts  favorably  is  required  not  less  by  kind- 
ness than  by  policy  ;  it  will  give  him  greater  power  when  he 
has  to  deal  with  indisputable  faults.  This  is  particularly 
the  case  with  respect  to  attention  to  their  lessons.  The 
teacher  should  remember  that  the  children  are  weak,  and 
only  acquiring  the  habit  of  attention  ;  he  will  often  be  mis- 


2l8  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

taken  if  he  attribute  every  act  of  inattention  to  deliberate 
purpose,  and  make  no  allowance  for  their  nature  or  their 
circumstances.  In  the  majority  of  instances  of  this  fault,  he 
will  probably  find  that  he  has  more  ground  to  blame  him- 
self than  them.  The  teacher  should  not  always  be  on  the 
outlook 'for  faults  ;  if  he  shows  that  he  expects  them,  he 
will  certainly  find  them.  And  mere  fault-finding  has  no 
power  to  prevent  faults.  It  may  be  added  that  there  are 
often  a  great  many  small  faults  current  in  a  school  which 
must  be  remedied,  not  by  being  directly  noticed,  but  by  an 
elevation  of  its  whole  tone. 

251.  After  removing  from   his    discipline  in 

How  to        this  way  the  predominating  aspect  of  fault-find- 
maintain  the 
Dignity  and    ing,  the  teacher  must  be  careful  to  maintain  the 

Effectiveness    ,..  r  ,  .  ,  ,  .,  1.1 

of  the  Re-  dignity  of  his  rewards  and  punishments  by  the 
pun?sShments  manner  in  which  he  administers  them,  (i) 
adopted.  When  he  has  made  up  his  mind  as  to  those 
which  he  intends  to  use,  he  must  strive  to 
preserve  them  in  their  purity.  This  needs  great  watchful- 
ness and  self-denial :  at  first,  especially,  the  lower  forms  of 
them  will  be  continually  obtruding  themselves  upon  him. 
Examples  of  error  are  these:  he  forgets  to  discriminate 
between  moral  good  and  intellectual,  and  so  bestows  the 
same  expression  of  commendation  on  the  pupil  who  answers 
cleverly  and  on  him  who  does  some  good  action ;  or  he  ha- 
bitually threatens  the  children  without  either  the  ability  or 
the  intention  to  fulfil,  forgetting  that  such  a  mode  of  disci- 
pline carries  on  its  very  front  the  aspect  of  perpetual,  false- 
hood, besides  making  frivolously  familiar  to  them  those  ex- 
pressions of  will  which  ought  to  carry  with  them,  and 
which,  if  judiciously  used,  would  carry  with  them,  a  great 
restraining  power  ;  or  he  uses  ridicule  freely  and  without 
reflection,  forgetting  that  this  has  absolutely  no  application 
to  natural  defects,  whether  of  mind  or  heart,  but  only  to 


PRACTICAL  DISCIPLINE.  219 

conventional  faults,  which  are  at  worst  bad  habits  in  things 
that  of  themselves  have  no  moral  significance.  (2)  Rewards 
and  punishments  are  degraded  when  they  become  of  too 
great  frequency.  The  virtual  effect  of  this  is  to  confound 
the  character  of  actions.  If  they  are  to  maintain  their  power, 
they  must  not  be  made  too  common.  (3)  They  must  be  ad- 
ministered in  a  spirit  of  seriousness.  It  is  for  a  very  serious 
purpose  they  are  used,  namely,  to  form  the  character  ;  any- 
thing like  levity  in  dealing  with  them  must  give  the  chil- 
dren the  impression  that  there  is  no  real  meaning  in  them, 
and  that  the  idea  of  duty  is  after  all  only  a  joke.  (4)  They 
must  be  administered  on  strictly  uniform  principles  known 
to  the  whole  school.  The  children  must  not  be  in  doubt  as 
to  whether  certain  actions  are  allowed  or  forbidden,  inno- 
cent or  punishable.  The  boundary-line  between  the  right 
and  the  wrong  must  be  clear  and  unmistakable  ;  and,  when 
once  fixed,  the  teacher  must  not  let  his  own  caprice  inter- 
fere with  it.  Constancy  is  of  the  very  essence  of  moral  dis- 
cipline (§  82)  :  uniformity  of  consequence  is  the  sanction, 
in  all  actions,  either  of  doing  or  of  not  doing ;  the  child 
must  be  able  to  calculate  on  the  consequence  of  what  he 
does,  and  this  consequence  should  be  made  as  certain  as 
our  knowledge  and  power  can  make  it.  The  idea  of  duty  is 
developed  in  its  full  force  only  by  a  long  course  of  steady 
rule.* 


PART  IV. 

SCHOOL  STRUCTURES  AND  ORGANIZATION. 


CHAPTER   I. 

SCHOOL    STRUCTURES. 

252.  THE  site  of  the  school  is  generally  deter- 
Site  of  an  J     • 

infant  mined  by  circumstances  over  which  the  parties 

interested  have  little  control.  But  where  there 
is  a  choice,  the  site  of  an  infant  school  should  conform  to 
the  following  conditions.  It  should  include  not  only  space 
for  building  on,  but  also  a  distinct  space  for  play-ground. 
It  should  be  retired ;  if  in  town,  from  the  noise  and  danger 
of  the  street ;  if  in  country,  from  the  dust  and  danger  of 
the  highway:  in  either  case,  the  little  school-community 
should  be  by  itself  during  school-hours,  and  subject  only  to 
its  own  influences.  The  soil  on  which  it  is  built  should  be 
thoroughly  dry,  and  free  from  rank  vegetation.  It  should 
not  be  in  proximity  to  public  works  of  any  kind,  or  to  any 
open  drainage.  It  should  be  sheltered,  either  naturally  or 
artificially,  from  inclement  winds.  It  should  be  of  good  ex- 
posure, not  overtopped  by  surrounding  buildings  which 
exclude  the  air ;  and  it  should  have  some  view  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  or  locality.  It  will  be  understood,  how- 
ever, that  these  considerations,  many  or  all  of  them,  must 
give  way  to  the  more  imperative  considerations  of  social  or 
economical  necessity. 


EARLY  EDUCATION. 


Parts  of  an  '  's  something  more  than  a  mere 

infant  room.  The  structure  of  an  infant  school,  as  of 

other  schools,  includes  certain  distinct  parts, 
which  have  their  peculiar  functions,  and  which  must  be  in- 
dividually provided  for,  if  the  school  is  to  be  complete.  We 
may  reckon  these  six  : 

The  School-room  itself  —  Section-room  —  Lobby  or  En- 
trance-room —  Wash-room  —  Teacher's  room  and  Museum  — 
Playground  and  its  appliances. 

And  these  parts  of  the  structure  should  be  compactly  and 
conveniently  arranged  relatively  to  each  other.  It  may  be 
added  that  they  should  be  all  on  the  ground-flat  ;  stories  in 
a  school  are  in  every  way  objectionable,  and  particularly  in 
an  infant  school. 

The  diagram  on  the  opposite  page  is  not  given  as  the 
plan  of  a  school,  but  to  present  to  the  eye  the  different 
parts,  and  the  closeness  of  connection  that  should  exist  be- 
tween them. 

Dimensions      254.  The  best  shape  for  the  school-room  is  an 

of  School-  .  . 

room.  oblong,  about  twice  as  long  as  it  is  broad.    A 

square,  or  other  shape,  is  not  so  convenient  ;  nor  does  it 
allow  of  such  economy  of  space.  The  gallery,  constructed 
to  hold  the  entire  number  of  pupils,  and  no  more,  without 
crowding,  should,  alone  or  with  passage  to  section-room, 
just  fill  one  end  of  the  school,  and  extend  forward  about 
one  third  or  two  fifths  of  the  total  length.  The  size  of  the 
room  relatively  to  the  attendance  must  be  greater  in  the 
infant  school  than  in  the  common  school.  The  children 
are  more  sensitive  to  the  influences  which  arise  fromjclose- 
ness  and  overcrowding  ;  and  there  must  be  space  to  accom- 
modate all  the  children  in  classes  independently  of  the  gal- 
lery. The  area  allotted  to  each  child  is  never  below  ten 
square  feet  in  a  good  infant  school  ;  in  some,  especially  in 
§Tialler  ones,  it  is  eleven,  and  even  twelve.  The  ceiling 


SCHOOL  STRUCTURES.  223 

should  in  all  cases  be  high,  ranging  from  fourteen  (twelve 
is  the  minimum  allowance  in  the  Minutes  of  Council)  to 
eighteen  or  twenty  feet :  some  are  not  ceiled,  but  it  is  bet- 


BORDER 

BORDER 

BORDER 

PLAYGROUND 

} 

TEACHERS 
ROOM 

\                     X 

CLOSETS 

COVERED    PLAYGROUND 

WASH  ROOM 

SCHOOL     ROOM 

II 

2 

LOBBY  OR 
ENTRANCE 
ROOM 

SECTION 
ROOM 

FRONT 

ter  that  they  should  be,  to  insure  an  equal  temperature.  If 
the  ceiling  is  not  high,  no  amount  of  area  will  secure  a  well- 
ventilated  and  comfortable  school-room. 


224 


EARLY  EDUCATION. 


is  ft. 


255.  The  two  following  examples  will  illus- 
Distribu-      trate  the  distribution  of  space   in   the   infant 
exemplified6   school.    Suppose  an  actual  attendance  of  eighty 
o°  moderate    children — which   is  probably  the  best  average 
size.  number  to  work  with  in  one  school — and  that 

12  square  feet  are  allowed  to  each  child ;  we  re- 
quire 960  square  feet,  i.e.,  a  room  40  feet  by  24.  The  height 
we  shall  assume  to  be  16  feet.  In  estimating  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  gallery,  not  less  than  eighteen  inches  should  be 
allowed  as  length  of  seat  for  each  pupil ;  it  is  not  good  to 
have  the  children  sitting  close  to  each  other.  The  breadth 
of  one  seat  and  its  accompanying  platform  may  be  28  inches. 

24ft. Then,   supposing  the  door  of 

the  school-room  is  in  that  end 
of  it  against  which  the  gallery 
is,  we  should  require  eight 
seats,  each  holding  ten  pupils, 
Each  seat  would  be  15  feet 
long,  which,  with  18  inches  for 
each  passage,  would  give  18 
feet  length  to  the  whole  gal- 
lery. Its  breadth,  from  front  to  back,  would  be  that  of 
seven  platforms,  together  with  the  breadth  of  one  seat ;  i.e., 
seven  times  28  inches  +  8  inches,  or,  in  all,  17  feet.  The 
open  space  in  front  would  have  23  feet  of  length,  or  552 
square  feet  of  area ;  giving  as 
nearly  as  possible  7  square 
feet  to  each  child.  If  the  gal- 
lery extended  quite  across  the 
end  wall,  each  seat  would 
then  be  18  feet  long,  holding 
twelve  pupils  ;  and  seven  seats, 
with  the  two  passages  of  3  feet 
width  each,  would  accommo- 
date the  whole.  The  open  space  would  be  somewhat 
greater  in  this  case ;  which  it  would  need  to  be  in  order  to 


SCHOOL  STRUCTURES.  22$ 

allow  for  the  door.  The  arrangement  would  now  appear  as 
indicated  in  the  lower  diagram.  These  are  liberal,  but  not 
over-liberal,  dimensions.  The  gallery  space  may  be  consid- 
erably contracted,  either  in  length  or  breadth,  if  the  chil- 
dren are  made  to  sit  close  together:  in  this  case  13  inches 
is  sufficient  allowance  for  the  length  of  each  seat.  With  a 
school-room  such  as  has  been  described,  no  separate  sec- 
tion-room would  be  necessary. 

inTbe  same  256.  Suppose  an  infant  school  of  the  largest 
School.  sort,  in  a  densely-peopled  district,  having  an 

average^tten dance  of  180.  Allowing  10  square  feet  to  each 
pupil,  we  require  j8oo  square  feet,  or  a  room  60  feet  by  30 
feet.  In  this  case  there  would  almost  certainly  be  a  door 
in  the  same  end  of  the  school-room  as  the  gallery.  Giving 
6  feet  of  breadth  for  this,  the  gallery  would  be  24  feet  across, 
i.e.,  the  seats  20  feet,  and  each  passage  2  feet.  Each  seat 
would  thus  hold  18  pupils  sitting  closely — which  they  must 
do  in  so  large  a  gallery — so  that  10  seats  would  accommo- 
date the  whole ;  breadth  of  seat  and  its  platform  same  as 
before.  The  open  space  would  thus  be  38^  feet  long,  giv- 
ing nearly  6£  square  feet  area  to  each  pupil.  It  may  be 
observed  that  so  large  a  gallery  should  never  be  taught 
with  all  the  children  in  it,  and  that  one.  moderately  large 
section-room,  or  two  small  ones,  would  be  indispensable  to 
a  school-room  constructed  on  these  conditions.  A  large 
school-room  of  this  kind  should  have  a  smaller  gallery  at 
the  other  end  of  it ;  or,  at  least,  the  class-seats  should  be  so 
arranged  as  to  admit  of  being  easily  thrown  together  for 
collective  lesson.* 

room*T?ach-  257.  The  other  parts  of  the  school  may  be 
er's  Room,  very  briefly  noticed.  The  section-room  at- 

Vvasn-room,  '  J 

Entrance-  tached   to   a   large  infant  school  should  be  of 

room  -  sufftc}ent  sjze    to    accommodate    a    collective 

group  of  the   children   for  an  object  or  religious   lesson. 
15 


226  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

It  should  contain  a  small  gallery,  and,  whilst  in  close 
connection  with  the  principal  room,  should  be  effective- 
ly separated  from  it  in  respect  of  sound.— The  teacher's 
room  is  attached  to  the  school  on  the  supposition  that  his 
house  is  not.  It  should  command  a  view  of  the  play- 
ground. It  might  conveniently  serve  as  museum,  as  it  is  not 
a  good  arrangement  to  have  the  collection  of  objects  in  the 
school  itself. — Every  school  should  have  a  wash-room  ad- 
joining it,  fitted  with  basins,  etc.,  to  give  effect  to  what  the 
children  are  taught  regarding  cleanliness.  The  children 
should  be  allowed  to  enter  it,  however,  only  under  superin- 
tendence.— A  very  important  part  of  the  school  is  the  lobby 
or  entrance-room.  Where  such  a  room  is  not  provided — 
which  is  too  often  the  case — there  must  be  more  or  less 
confusion  in  assembling  and  in  dispersing.  It  should  be 
furnished  with  pegs,  etc.,  for  caps,  bonnets,  and  other  arti- 
cles of  dress.  Each  class  should  have  its  own  division  of 
pegs,  and  each  child  its  own  number.  One  or  more  of  the 
assistants  should  always  be  stationed  in  this  room  at  the 
hours  of  assembling  and  dismissing.  A  few  simple  regula- 
tions, strictly  enforced,  will  secure  perfect  order  in  this  de- 
partment. A  mere  closet  or  passage  will  not  serve  the  pur- 
pose. 

258.  For  ventilation,  various  expedients  have 

Ventilation,  , 

Lighting,  and  been  proposed,  but  experience  shows  that  the 
Heating.  teacher  must  still  depend  chiefly  on  the  proper 
use  of  the  school-windows.  If  there  are  windows  on  op- 
posite sides  of  the  room,  a  draft  is  easily  had  which  will 
keep  the  air  fresh.  There  is  but  one  condition  on  which 
windows  should  be  so  placed,  and  that  is,  that  they  should 
be  at  a  considerable  height  above  the  heads  of  the  children. 
But  it  is  generally  easy  to  create  a  through-draft,  even 
when  there  are  windows  only  on  one  side,  by  the  use  of  a 
perforated  plate  in  the  opposite  wall.  Without  some  such 


SCHOOL  STRUCTURES.  22J 

contrivance,  the  ventilation  will  always  be  defective  where 
the  windows  are  only  on  one  side. — The  infant  school  should 
be  well  lighted.  The  best  sides  for  the  admission  of  sunlight 
are  of  course  the  south  and  the  west.  The  windows  must 
have  blinds.  When  the  school  is  ventilated  by  means  of 
the  windows,  the  difficulty  of  using  the  blinds  to  exclude 
the  sun's  rays  on  a  windy  day  may  be  obviated  by  having  a 
fixed  Venetian  blind  outside  the  window  of  a  foot  or  a  foot 
and  a  half  in  depth,  and  lowering  the  window-blind  to  a 
level  with  the  bottom  of  it.  It  may  be  observed  that  a 
window-light  in  the  ceiling  is  very  convenient  both  for 
lighting  and  ventilating.  Where  this  plan  is  adopted, 
great  care  must  be  taken  to  make  it  and  to  keep  it  water- 
tight.— For  the  heating  of  a  school,  the  open  fire,  with  all 
its  disadvantages  of  expense  and  unequal  temperature,  is 
still  recommended  in  preference  to  stoves,  which  are  gener- 
ally neither  wholesome  nor  cleanly. — (§  92-94.)* 

The  Play-        259.  A  playground  is  an  essential  feature  in 

B'ound its 
ses.  the  infant  school.      Its  uses  have  already  been 

stated  by  implication,  (i)  It  is  necessary  for  the  physical 
recreation  of  the  children ;  for  which  purpose  it  should  be 
occupied  not  less  than  a  third  part  of  the  total  school-time. 
(2)  It  is  most  valuable  for  the  opportunities  of  moral  train- 
ing which  it  affords.  In  the  school-room  the  children 
are  under  immediate  superintendence,  and  are  so  far  re- 
strained in  their  manifestation  of  character;  in  the  play- 
ground they  feel  themselves  free,  and  there,  therefore,  they 
show  themselves  as  they  are.  In  the  play  ground,  accord- 
ingly, the  teacher  may  obtain  an  insight  into  their  charac- 
ters and  tendencies  which  he  will  seek  for  in  vain  elsewhere ; 
and  numerous  incidents  will  pass  under  his  notice,  which 
he  may  turn  to  excellent  account  in  the  school-room,  from 
their  reality  and  freshness. — (§  59,  ; 

•""^ 


pHTI7.IRSIT.rl 


228  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

Superinten-  2^0.  The  children  should  not  be  left  to  them- 
Piayground  selves  in  the  playground.  In  the  case  of  elder 
pupils,  direct  superintendence  would  not  be  de- 
sirable ;  but  with  infants  it  is  indispensable,  both  for  phys- 
ical and  moral  ends.  From  their  want  of  reflection  they 
cannot  safely  be  left  to  themselves  ;  and  for  the  same  rea- 
son the  presence  of  a  superior  is  not  felt  by  them  as  any 
restraint.  At  the  same  time  this  superintendence  must  be 
judicious ;  it  must  be  more  that  of  a  friend  than  of  a  master, 
sympathizing  and  advising  rather  than  dictating.  In  this 
way  it  will  encourage  instead  of  diminishing  the  general 
hilarity.  The  teacher  cannot  afford  to  dispense  with  tak- 
ing a  personal  share  of  this  superintendence,  even  when  his 
assistants  are  worthy  of  all  confidence.  His  room  should 
always  command  a  view  of  the  ground.  In  point  of  fact, 
the  hour  for  the  recreation  of  the  children  is  scarcely  one 
for  his  recreation,  unless  he  can  find  his  in  theirs. 

261.  The  features  which  may  be  observed  in 
Features  in  a  good   playground  are  the  following :   (i)  As 
ofrpSj}f-ment  to  s^ze'  it  must  be  large,  affording  ample  space 
ground.  for  the  children  to  run  up  and  down  in.     (2)  As 

to  position,  it  must  be  adjoining  the  school, 
with  entrance  immediately  from  the  teaching-rooms,  in- 
closed from  public  view,  bounded  off  so  as  to  be  school 
property,  and  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  school.  (3)  As  to 
soil,  it  must  be  thoroughly  drained,  laid  with  fine  gravel 
rather  than  with  flags  or  deal ;  grass  is  unsuitable  in  damp 
weather,  so  that  only  a  small  part,  if  any,  of  the  surface 
should  be  covered  with  it.  (4)  As  to  arrangement,  there 
should  be  a  flower-border  of  greater  or  less  extent.  This  is 
valuable  in  different  ways  ;  it  affords  materials  for  object- 
lessons  which  can  scarcely  be  had  otherwise ;  it  tends  to 
cultivate  the  taste,  and  it  is  an  instrument  of  moral  training 
from  the  habit  of  self-restraint  imposed  upon  the  children 


SCHOOL  STRUCTURES.  2^9 

with  regard  to  it.  A  part  of  the  ground  should  be  covered 
to  provide  against  wet  weather ;  it  is  not  desirable  to  be 
under  the  necessity  of  retaining  the  children  in  school  during 
play-hours.  (5)  As  to  furniture,  the  means  of  physical  ex- 
ercise which  seem  to  be  most  generally  approved  of  are  the 
circular  swing,  bars  for  easy  gymnastic  exercises,  and  a  rope 
for  the  children  pulling  against  each  other  on  the  grass. 
Agreeable  recreation  of  a  more  sedentary  kind  is  furnished 
by  a  collection  of  wooden  bricks  of  different  shapes  for 
building,  and  the  sand-pit  for  digging  in  and  building  on. 
In  addition  to  these  the  children  are  supposed  to  have  their 
own  games  and  playthings.* 

School-  262.  It  only  remains  to  be  added  here,  that 

cleaning.  au  the  parts  of  the*school  must  be  kept  scrupu- 
lously clean.  The  class-rooms  and  other  rooms  must  be 
swept  and  dusted  daily  ;  it  may  often  be  advisable  also  to 
have  the  principal  floor  swept  in  the  hour  of  interval  between 
forenoon  and  afternoon  work.  The  rooms  must  be  washed 
as  often  as  necessary.  Attention  should  also  be  paid  to  the 
playground  ;  it  must  be  kept  clean  and  neat,  and  free  from 
puddles.  The  whole  appearance  of  the  school  should  be 
such  as  to  impress  the  children  with  the  idea  and  love  of 
order  and  cleanliness  (note  on  §  74).  It  is  hardly  necessary 
to  add  that  no  visitor  can  form  a  favorable  opinion  of  a 
school  where  this  is  neglected,  whatever  its  character  be  in 
other  respects.* 


230  EARLY  EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ORGANIZATION. 

263.  THE  genera]  complexion  of  thearrange- 
.  Organize-     ments  of  the  infant-school  differs  widely  from 

tion  of  Classes  * 

and  Groups,  that  of  the  common-school ;  partly  because  the 
subjects  of  instruction  do  not  correspond  ;  but 
chiefly  because  the  methods  that  must  be  used  in  conveying 
instruction  have  no  resemblance.  On  the  one  hand,  col- 
lective action  is  largely  required  in  the  infant-school ;  and, 
on  the  other,  in  exercises  of  attainment  the  classes  are  ne- 
cessarily much  smaller  than  in  the  common-school  (§  21). 
There  are  three  distinct  groupings  for  which  provision 
must  be  made  in  the  infant-school :  (i)  in  some  exercises 
all  the  children  must  participate  simultaneously,  as  in  the 
opening  and  closing  devotions,  in  singing,  and  in  physi- 
cal exercises.  For  this  purpose  the  gallery  must  hold  them 
all ;  and,  as  some  of  the  physical  exercises  are  performed  on 
the  floor,  e.g.,  marching,  the  area  in  front  of  the  gallery 
must  be  large  enough  to  admit  of  this.  (2)  In  some  exercises 
several  classes  are  combined  for  collective  lessons.  Children 
of  four  years  cannot  follow  the  instruction  of  children  of  six 
or  seven.  If  there  is  to  be  regular  progress,  therefore,  and  ad- 
aptation of  work,  the  children  must  be  formed  into  separate 
classes ;  and  yet,  as  we  have  seen,  the  division  must  not  be  so 
minute  as  to  destroy  the  character  of  simultaneous  action. 
A  twofold  grouping  will  suffice  for  this  purpose ;  the  one 
group  comprising  the  children  under  five,  and  the  other  those 
above  five.  These  groups  will  be  found  sufficiently  homoge- 
neous to  work  well  together,  and,  as  a  rule,  will  divide  the 


ORGANIZA  TION.  2  3  I 

school  with  sufficient  equality.  Their  collective  lessons  may 
be  given  with  perfect  convenience  in  the  gallery ;  when  the 
school  is  very  large,  the  separate  class-room  will  also  be  re- 
quired. The  subjects  of  instruction  which  need  this  union 
of  collectiveness  with  division  are  those  which  appeal  to  the 
general  intelligence  of  the  pupils,  such  as  the  religious  les- 
son, the  object-lesson,  the  lessons  on  color  and  form,  the 
lessons  on  number,  and  the  geography  lesson.  (3)  Exercises 
of  attainment  require  separate  sectional  and,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, individual  action.  Under  this  head  fall  reading  and 
spelling.  Classes  for  these  may  be  arranged  standing  round 
the  area  in  front  of  the  gallery.*  From  the  minute  subdi- 
vision that  is  needed,  it  is  in  this  exercise  that  the  teacher 
requires  most  assistance.  But  the  difficulty  is  more  easily 
overcome  than  would  appear  at  first  sight ;  for  the  whole  of 
a  large  school  is  never  thus  subdivided  at  one  time,  but  gen- 
erally only  one  group,  the  other  being  engaged  with  some 
collective  lesson.  As  these  small  classes  are  only  made  for 
reading,  attainment  in  reading  is  the  only  test  to  be  used  in 
constructing  them.  There  is  but  one  way  in  which  the  con- 
sideration of  age  may  affect  the  classification  :  a  child  of  six 
(suppose),  whose  education  has  been  neglected,  may  require 
in  respect  of  attainment  to  be  ranked  with  a  class  of  three- 
and-a-half  or  four  who  are  just  beginning  to  learn  reading  ; 
yet  it  would  be  injurious  to  the  interests  of  such  a  class  that 
he  should  be  a  member  of  it. 

Time-Tabies  264<  ®n  succeeding  to  the  charge  of  a  school, 
—their  Uses.  the  teacher  will  naturally  be  anxious  to  draw  up 
a  suitable  time-table  of  its  engagements.  He  should  not 
immediately  overturn  the  arrangements  of  his  predecessor, 
but  rather  allow  them  to  continue,  subject  only  to  necessary 
modifications,  till  he  has  become  well  acquainted  with  the 
circumstances  and  wants  of  the  school.  His  own  time-table 
is  almost  certain  to  be  better  by  the  short  delay,  and  to  be 


232  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

of  such  a  character  as  to  supersede  the  necessity  of  subse- 
quent material  change.  It  should  be  suspended  in  a  promi- 
nent place  on  the  school-room  wall,  for  reference  by  the 
teacher  and  his  assistants,  and  for  the  information  of  visi- 
tors. 

Principles        ^^*  ^^e  time-table  should  be  constructed  on 
of  their  Con-   such  considerations  as  the  following :  (i)  The 

struction. 

hours  of  daily  instruction  in  the  infant-school 
should  be  fewer  than  in  the  common-school ;  for  the  senior 
infants  four  hours  are  sufficient ;  for  the  juniors  three,  or 
three  and  a  half.  (2)  This  period  may  be  variously  divided, 
according  to  the  exigencies  of  the  school ;  where  the  chil- 
dren do  not  go  home  at  any  interval,  the  best  division  is  into 
three  parts,  with  a  short  interval  of  recreation  between  each 
two ;  where  they  do — and  this  is  the  more  common  practice — 
a  division  into  two  parts  is  enough.  (3)  The  times  of  meeting 
and  times  of  dismissing  may  likewise  vary;  probably  the 
most  generally  convenient  hours  are  from  10  to  12  A.M.  and 
from  i  or  half-past  i  to  3  P.M.  (4)  There  should  be  no  teach- 
ing on  Saturdays.  Both  teacher  and  children  require  relaxa- 
tion on  one  day  in  the  week.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  make 
Saturday  a  half-day  ;  in  this  case  the  attendance  is  almost 
always  so  irregular  as  to  make  it  not  worth  while  to  as- 
semble the  school.  (5)  The  teacher  should  have  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  lessons  before  him,  and  fix  the  proportion 
they  should  bear  to  each  other  in  respect  of  time.  Thus 
it  is  enough  to  have  one  formal  religious  lesson  daily  ;  read- 
ing and  number  may  be  taken  up  twice  daily;  the  geog- 
raphy lesson  as  distinct  from  the  object-lesson  is  sufficient- 
ly treated  in  two  lessons  weekly ;  the  teacher  may  read  to 
the  children  twice  weekly ;  there  is  no  use  for  more  than 
one  exercise  on  color  in  the  week  ;  whilst  singing  and 
manual  exercises  may  be  given  three  or  four  times  in  the 
day.  (6)  The  lessons  should  not,  on  the  average,  be  longer 


ORGANIZATION. 


233 


than  twenty  minutes  ;  for  the  junior  infants  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  is  sufficient.  (7)  The  succession  of  lessons  given  to 
any  one  class  should  be  agreeable  from  its  variety;  les- 
sons of  the  same  nature,  such  as  the  religious  lesson 
and  the  object-lesson,  should  not  follow  each  other.  (8) 
To  make  the  noise  and  mutual  disturbance  as  little  as  pos- 
sible, exercises  which  may  be  performed  in  silence  should 
generally  be  given  to  one  group  or  class  whilst  the  others 
are  engaged  in  their  oral  lessons.  (9)  A  class  should  not 
be  left  without  direct  superintendence,  or  set  to  learn  some- 
thing by  themselves  in  school,  if  it  be  possible  to  arrange 
otherwise.  (10)  The  arrangements  should  be  such  that  the 
teacher  may  have  opportunity  of  coming  into  daily  personal 
contact  with  all  the  classes,  and  that  the  pupil-teachers  or 
assistants  may  have  opportunity  of  seeing  and  taking  part 
in  all  the  work  of  the  school.  (11)  The  necessary  changes 
during  the  day  should  be  expeditiously  conducted,  so  that 
no  time  be  lost  between  the  lessons.  (12)  When  the  time- 
table has  been  made,  the  strictest  punctuality  should  be 
observed  in  keeping  the  lessons  within  the  times  allotted  to 
them. 

266.  The  following  is  an  average  specimen  of 
tb^Table*.' the  time-table  of  an  infant-school :     (i)  On  the 
supposition  that  the  children  do  not  go  home 
in  the  interval ;  (2)  On  the  supposition  that  they  do. 

TIME-TABLE,  No.  I. 


4 

1 

10-11.40. 

12.20-1.30. 

2-I5-3-I5- 

v 

Opening,     .    .    .  lorn. 
Roll,    5  " 

~ 

Singing,  .     .     .    5  m. 
Form,  Senior  I         u 

d 

Singing,      .    .     .    5  m. 
Ob.  Less.,  Sen.  |         4t 

C4 

=  --: 

Religious  Lesson,  20  " 
Reading  25  " 
Sing,  and  March,  10  " 

j 

Number,  Jun.  J    2C 
Reading,  .     .     .  20  " 
Mutual      Ques- 

5 
£ 

; 

Form,  Junior     ) 
Drawing,  Sen.    1         u 
Ob.  Less.,  Jun.  f   IS 

® 

Number,  Senior  1         u 

< 

tioning,      .     .10" 

^' 

Reading  to  Chil- 

| 

Form,  Junior     f   2C 
Phys.  Exercises,  .  10  " 

E 

Exercises,     .    .    5  " 

"^ 

dren  or    Moral 
Lesson,    .    .     .  15  " 

j 

Close,      ....    5  " 

234 


EARLY  EDUCATION. 


TIME-TABLE,  No.  II. 


10-11. 

11-12. 

1-2. 

z-3- 

Opening,    .  iom. 
Roll,  .    .    .    5  " 
Religious 

Singing  and 
Exerc.,     .  10  m. 

Num.,  Sr.  \         „ 

Sing.,  etc.,  .  iom. 
Object  Les- 
•d  '  son,    Sen., 

Ob.  Less..  ) 
Junior    >  1501. 
Form,  Sr.  ) 

Lesson,     .  20  " 
Read  in  Sec- 

Form, Jr.  \ 
Form,  Sr.  [        », 

Q    Reading 
§    (all),  .    .    .  3o  " 

Singing,      .     5  " 
Num.,  Jr.l 

tions,    .    .  25  " 

Num.,  Jr.  f   20 

Mor.Less.  1 

March   and 

?  s 

or  Read-  f   IS 

Dismiss,   .  10  " 

fi  id 

ing,  Sen.} 

£  ? 

Mutual  Ques- 

tions,    .    .  15  " 

'5  rt 

Close,  Dis- 

3 

miss,      .     .   10  " 

Notes  on  Time-Tables. — (i)  The  children  should  always 
assemble  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  school-opening  on  the 
playground,  and  have  their  caps,  etc.,  deposited  in  the  en- 
trance-room, under  the  superintendence  of  the  pupil-teach- 
ers, so  as  to  be  ready  to  enter  school  whenever  the  bell 
rings.  (2)  The  religious  lesson  should  be  given  as  the  first 
lesson  of  all,  either  to  the  school  collectively  or  to  groups. 
The  order  of  the  following  lessons  may  vary.  (3)  Reading, 
which  is  a  class-lesson  and  is  given  standing,  will  well  follow 
the  religious  lesson.  (4)  The  children  will  then  require 
some  relaxation  by  singing  and  manual  exercises.  (5)  The 
lessons  on  number  and  form  (including  color)  are  supposed 
to  be  given  to  the  senior  and  junior  groups  separately,  to 
suit  the  advancement  of  each.  Physical  exercises  conclude 
the  morning  meeting.  (6)  When  the  children  do  not  go 
home,  three  quarters  of  an  hour  in  playground  at  a  time  is 
enough  ;  otherwise  an  hour  or  hour  and  a  half  is  required. 
(7)  A  little  singing  is  given  at  commencement  of  each  meet- 
ing to  calm  the  excitement  of  the  playground.  (8)  The 
object-lesson,  like  the  lessons  on  number  and  form,  is  sup- 
posed to  be  given  to  separate  groups.  (9)  Reading  to  the 
children  and  the  moral  lesson  (as  distinct  from  the  religious) 
may  alternate  with  each  other,  as  neither  requires  to  be 
given  daily.  (10)  Mutual  questioning  on  miscellaneous 
subjects  is  a  very  interesting  exercise  to  the  children,  and 
has  ten  minutes  daily  assigned :  this  may  be  varied  by  the 


ORGANIZA  T10N.  235 

children  in  turns  leading  the  manual  exercises.  (11)  There 
should  be  no  admission  to  playground  after  the  afternoon 
dismissal.  (12)  No  place  is  assigned  in  these  time-tables  to 
sewing.  The  elder  girls  may  be  engaged  in  it  if  it  is  deemed 
necessary  or  expedient.  It  is  not  much  they  can  learn  in 
the  infant  school,  beyond  how  to  hold  the  needle  and  to 
make  stitches  in  sewing  and  knitting.  It  is,  however,  an 
interesting  occupation  to  the  girls.  Not  less  than  three 
quarters  of  an  hour  should  be  given  to  it  at  a  time,  when  it 
is  a  part  of  the  course  ;  the  teacher  will  have  so  much  to 
do  setting  the  seams  for  them,  that  it  would  not  be  worth 
while  to  engage  in  it  for  a  shorter  time.  The  boys  may  be 
engaged  in  drawing  or  writing  during  the  sewing  time  un- 
less it  be  at  an  extra  hour.  (13)  This  time-table  is  made 
out  for  one  day ;  but  with  the  necessary  change  of  lessons 
and  hymns  it  will  serve  for  every  day. 

School  Reg-  267<  Registers  °f  attendance  should  be  kept 
isters— their  for  the  information  of  the  teacher  himself  and 
of  all  who  are  interested  in  the  school ;  the 
condition  of  the  school,  both  past  and  present,  can  be 
gathered  from  them  at  any  moment.  And  the  very  fact 
that  strict  account  is  taken 'of  the  attendance  has  an  im- 
portant influence,  both  with  parents  and  children,  in  pro- 
moting regularity. 

Register  of  268.  The  Register  of  Admission  and  With- 
andwlth"  drawal,  or  general  roll  of  the  school,  is  designed 
placed  aXnd  to  record  the  names  of  the  children  who  have 
exemplified,  been  pupils  at  any  time,  with  the  exact  period 
of  their  attendance.  It  should  be  of  considerable  size, 
therefore,  so  as  to  serve  over  a  number  of  years.  It  con- 
sists of  two  parts  :  the  Register  itself,  strictly  so  called, 
and  its  Alphabetical  Index  prefixed.  The  Register  may 
be  simpler  in  its  construction  than  would  be  necessary  in 
the  common  school.  The  following  is  sufficient: 


236  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

»  REGISTER   OF   ADMISSION   AND   WITHDRAWAL. 


Index 
No. 

Date  of 
Admis- 
sion. 

Child's  Name. 

Age 

Name  and  Resi- 
dence [and  Occu- 
pation] of  Parent. 

Date 
of 
Leav- 
ing. 

Rea- 
son. 

Char- 
acter. 

i 

Dixon,  John 

2 

Ord,  Mary 

3 

Wilson,  Henry 

etc. 

etc. 

The  alphabetical  index  prefixed  may  be  of  this  form : 

ALPHABETICAL   INDEX. 


Child's  Name. 

Index 
No. 

Child's  Name. 

Index 
No. 

Child's  Name. 

Index 
No, 

A 

Addison,  John 

283 

Arden,  John 

191 

Allan,  Peter 

54 

Avery,  Anne 

302 

Alton,  Mary 

789 

etc. 

etc. 

Anderson,  Jane 

681 

The  name  and  index-number  need  alone  to  be  recorded 
here ;  the  index-number  borrowed,'  of  course,  from  the 
register.  This  page  only  represents  names  beginning  with 
A  :  from  two  to  four  pages  may  be  given  to  a  letter.  The 
way  to  use  the  general  roll  is  the  following :  "  When  a 
child  is  to  be  received  into  school,  write  his  name  in  its 
proper  column  in  the  register,  and  fill  up  the  other  columns 
so  far  as  they  can  be  filled  at  that  time  ;  then  make  the 
necessary  transference  of  name  and  index-number  immedi- 
ately to  the  alphabetical  index. 


ORGANIZATION. 


237 


Daily  Reg-  269.  The  other  register  which  should  be  kept 
tendamr^ex-  is  tne  daily  class-roll,  designed  to  register  the 
amplified.  state  of  attendance  from  day  to  day.  For  this 
purpose  the  whole  infant  school  should  be  treated  as  one 
class,  and  the  roll  called  when  the  children  meet  in  the  gal- 
lery in  the  morning.  This  register  might  be  of  the  follow- 
ing form : 

MARCH,  1854. 


No. 

Name. 

Index 
No. 

M. 

Tu 

W. 

Th. 

F. 

M. 

Tu. 

W. 

Th. 

F. 

etc. 

- 



i 

Charles  Craig 

243 

2 

AndrewDaw- 

61 

son 

3 

William    Tib- 
betts 

29 

4 

Mary  Cook 

456 

5 

Anne  Park 

185 

etc. 

etc. 

etc. 

Number  present  daily. 

1? 

S3 

B6 

jo 

94 

94 

93 

93 

B8 

87 

etc. 

Number  absent  daily. 

7 

6 

8 

4 

0 

0 

i 

' 

6 

7 

etc. 
etc. 

Av« 

e 
e 

:rage  Number  pres- 
it    daily    for    week 

9i 

• 

Weather. 

Fair,  but  dull. 

Fine. 

etc. 

its  Con-  270.  This  register,  as  it  is  ruled  for  a  month, 

theUMa°nnne1?d  must  be  renewed  every  month.  It  should  dis- 
of  using  it.  tinguish  the  senior  and  junior  groups  in  the 
school.  The  number  in  the  left-hand  column  indicates 


238  J5A&LY  EDUCATION'. 

mere  numerical  succession.  The  index-number  is  copied 
from  the  general  register  of  admission  and  withdrawal.  It 
will  be  observed  that  the  name  and  the  index-number  al- 
ways go  together  ;  the  index-number  is  the  link  which  con- 
nects the  registers.  If  it  is  necessary  to  mark  the  roll 
twice  daily,  the  number  present  daily  is  found  by  add- 
ing the  number  present  in  the  forenoon  to  the  number 
present  in  the  afternoon,  and  dividing  by  two.  The  aver- 
age number  present  daily  for  the  week,  or  "the  weekly 
average  of  present"  is  found  by  adding  together  the  num- 
bers present  on  each  day  of  the  week,  and  dividing  by  five, 
the  number  of  school-days,  as  is  done  in  the  example  given. 
The  weather-column  serves  an  evident  purpose.  Nothing 
else  needs  to  be  recorded  in  the  daily  class-roll  in  the  infant- 
school.  The  marks  for  present  and  absent  may  be  con- 
veniently arranged  thus  :  present  by  a  dot,  thus  .  or  by  a 
blank,  absent  I,  late  +,  absent  and  excused  -f-f ,  sick  indi- 
cated by  underlining.  As  the  teacher  is  required  to  be 
able  to  tell  the  average  attendance  for  the  year,  he  may 
arrive  at  that  in  two  ways ;  either  by  simply  adding  to- 
gether the  average  weekly  attendances  and  dividing  this  by 
the  number  of  weeks  in  his  school  year,  or  by  keeping  the 
monthly  or  quarterly  averages  as  he  goes  along  and  then 
dividing  their  sum  by  the  number  of  months  or  quarters. 
It  may  be  added,  that  the  teacher  should  regularly  balance 
his  register  at  the  close  of  the  day,  and  of  the  week  ;  this 
will  prevent  mistakes,  and  enable  him  to  make  a  return  of 
the  state  of  attendance  with  little  trouble  whenever  he  is 
called  upon. 

Explanation  271.  Infant-schools,  as  well  as  other  schools, 
turns  required  under  the  inspection  of  the  Committee  of  Privy 
sThoo^under  Council  on  Education,  are  required  to  make  an 
inspection,  annual  return  of  the  state  of  the  school.  The 
following  is  a  copy  of  the  schedule  the  teacher  is  required 
to  fill  up  : — 


ORGANIZATION. 


239 


INFANTS'  SCHOOL. 

N.B.— It  will  be  observed  that  separate  Returns  are  to  be  made  for  Boys'  and 
Girls'  Schools,  where  such  are  included  in  the  Establishment. 


Teacher's  Name 
in  full 

Where 
trained 

Certifi- 
cate. 

(  Mass. 

Division 

Pate. 

Date  of  birth... 

How 
long? 

Augmen 
tat  on. 

Date   at  which 
he  or  she  took 
charge  of  Metal. 

In  wha 
year? 

Is  she  in  posses- 
s'n  of  her  parch- 
ment certificate? 

Number  of 
Children  on  the 
Books,  ntfcd— 

rf 

i 

- 

I 

This  table  should  be  filled  up  ivith 
from  the  Time-table  anil    Atlmilu 
each  clans.    In  caws  of  doubt,  it   i 
application  be  made  to  the  Secreta 
mfttee  of  Council  on  Education. 

Total*  collected 
!<•<•   Key  inter  of 
r<;iii,<tiled  Hint 
ry  of  the  Corn- 

Under  4  

Betw'n  4  and  5. 

Number  of  Chil- 
dren learning- 

irys 

<n*. 

Tot. 

List  of  Books  (No. 
(.f  ;><•>•/<•<•/<  'opics 
only)  and  Appara- 
tus (No.  of  iH-rffi-t 
articles  oiilvl. 

Betw'n  5  and  6. 

Holy  Scriptures 

Betw'n  6  and  7. 

Catechism. 

Over  7 

Letters  and 
Monosyllables 

Total  ....  .. 

Lessons  on 

Form  and 
Color. 

Admitted  in  last 
12  months  

— 

— 

— 

Numbers. 



Left  in  last  12 
months  

Objects. 

Highest  weekly 
average  in  past 
year  

To  sew  and 
knit. 

Lowest  weekly 
average  in  past 
year  

Other  subjects  (if  any). 

Average  attend- 
ance   for    past 
year  

Present  ordin'y 
attendance  

Dimensions    of 
School-room  . 

L'th 

n-th 

H'ht 



— 

— 

— 

Are  the    Managers  satisfied  with   the 
Mistress'  character,  conduct,  and  atten- 
tion to  duty  during  the  peat  year  I 

Are  the   Managers  satisfied   that  the 
requisite  instruction  of  one  and  a  half 
hours  daily  required  by  their  Lordships' 
Minutes   has   been   given   to  the   J'upil 
Teacher  f 

240  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

The  questions  as  to  the  number  of  the  children  on  the 
books  of  different  ages  are  answered  from  the  register  of 
admission  and  withdrawal ;  so  also  are  the  two  relative  to 
the  number  of  admissions  and  withdrawals  within  the  last 
twelve  months.  Those  relating  to  the  averages  are  an- 
swered from  the  register  of  attendance.  Those  in  the  right- 
hand  column  relating  to  the  subjects  of  instruction  are  an- 
swered partly  from  the  time-table  and  partly  from  the 
register  of  attendance.  Well-kept  registers  and  complete 
returns  are  always  marked  with  special  approbation  in  the 
official  reports  on  schools. 

Register  of  272.  The  teacher  will  of  course  keep  a  register 
of  fees  or  cash-book ;  not  less  for  economical 
than  for  professional  purposes.  His  annual  return  of  the 
state  of  the  school  includes  as  one  of  its  items  the  rates  of 
the  fees  and  the  number  of  the  children  who  pay  at  each 
rate.  The  form  of  this  register  will  vary  according  to  the 
way  of  charging  the  fees  ;  in  some  places  these  are  quar- 
terly, in  others  weekly.  It  is  better  to  have  them  quarterly  ; 
but  this  is  a  matter  greatly  influenced  by  the  circumstances 
of  the  parents.  If  the  teacher  cannot  find  a  form  ready  to 
his  hand,  he  can  easily  construct  one  for  himself ;  ruling 
each  page  for  a  quarter  so  as  to  indicate  date,  names,  and 
amount  of  payment. 

Register  of      273.  There   is  one  other  register  which  the 

Work  or  Les- 
son-Roll,        teacher  is    strongly  recommended    to  keep,  a 

register  of  the  work  done  in  the  school,  or  a  lesson-roll. 
Every  judicious  teacher  keeps  a  private  account  of  this  ; 
but  such  a  record  should  lie  on  every  school-table  for  the 
satisfaction  of  all  who  are  interested  in  it.  In  most  of  the 
subjects  of  the  infant-school  the  course  may  be  laid  down 
beforehand  with  perfect  certainty,  for  a  month,  or  even  for 
a  quarter,  And  it  will  not  only  save  the  teacher's  time  to 


ORGANIZATION. 


241 


do  so,  but  will  prevent  the  instruction  from  being  fragmen- 
tary and  rambling.  Here  is  a  specimen  of  what  is  meant ; 
from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  all  the  subjects  may  be 
marked  daily  except  the  reading,  which  it  is  sufficient  to 
mark  weekly. 

REGISTER  OF  WORK. 


Sept 

185G. 

Religious 

LC.-.-UII-;. 

Moral 
Lesson. 

Object- 
Lesson 
and 
Ueog. 

Lesson 
Number. 

Form 
and 
Color. 

Reading 
to  the 
Children. 

Hymns, 
Songs, 
and 
Tunes 
learnt 

Rend- 
ing. 

Provi- 

How 

I 

dence  of 
God- 
story  of 

Salt. 

Adding 
of 
nine. 

Acute 
angle. 

Instinct 
of  the 
Dog. 

doth  the 
little 
busy  bee, 

ft 

Daniel. 

VV.   I,  2. 

4«£ 

2 

Do. 
Christ's 
escape 
from 
Herod. 

Be  kind 
to 
animals. 

The 
Rabbit. 

Applied 
ques- 
tions in 
adding. 

Obtuse 
angle. 

Do. 
3d  verse 

1 

3 

etc. 

etc. 

etc. 

etc. 

etc. 

etc. 

etc. 

Sft'l 

1$\ 

4 

5 

Seniors. 

Middle  i 
Juniors. 

This  register  may  be  conveniently  made  out  for  a  month. 
By  reading  it  from  left  to  right,  we  see  each  day's  work  ; 
by  reading  it  from  the  top  downwards,  we  see  the  sequence 
of  the. various  subjects  for  each  month.  The  teacher  will 
find  himself  amply  repaid  for  the  very  slight  trouble  im- 
plied in  the  keeping  of  such  a  record, 
16 


242  EARLY  EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER   III. 

SCHOOL    APPARATUS. 

Necessity  274.  THE  various  articles  needed  in  the  in- 
Apparatus.  fant-school  for  efficient  instruction  have  already 
been  noticed  incidentally  in  connection  with  the  different 
lessons ;  but  it  may  be  useful  to  bring  them  together  in  a 
tabular  form.  Their  number  is  pretty  large,  but  they  are 
not  expensive ;  and  it  were  much  to  be  wished  that  they 
were  provided  in  greater  profusion  than  they  generally  are 
by  those  who  are  interested  in  schools.  No  infant-school 
can  bear  a  high  character  without  a  good  supply  of  appa- 
ratus ;  the  teaching  is  almost  certain  to  be  too  scholastic 
in  its  complexion.  The  following  list  comprises  the  prin- 
cipal things  that  are  necessary,  exclusive  of  books,  which, 
from  their  being  generally  the  property  of  the  parents,  can 
hardly  be  called  school  apparatus : 

whatAp-  275> — l-  There  must  be  an  adequate  supply 
paratus  of  black-boards.  For  the  collective  lesson  one 

should  corn-  .       ,  ,  •  .     « «     i 

prise— Black-  large  one  is  required  ;  but  there  should  be 
smaller  ones  as  numerous  as  the  classes  them- 
selves. These  last  may  be  conveniently  suspended  on  the 
wall,  or  even  fixed  upon  it.  The  former  must  be  movable, 
and  it  requires  much  care  in  its  construction.  Different 
materials  are  in  use.  Slate  is  less  troublesome  than  wood 
is  in  selection,  but  it  is  not  so  pleasant  to  write  or  draw  on ; 
whilst  it  is  too  heavy  to  be  convenient,  and  too  expensive 
when  properly  mounted.  Wood  is,  therefore,  more  gener- 
ally used.  Not  to  mention  more  expensive  woods,  birch  is 
perhaps  the  best ;  but  common  deal  will  serve  the  purpose 


SCHOOL  APPARATUS.  243 

when  care  is  taken  in  the  selection.  It  should  be  well 
seasoned  and  carefully  painted.  If  it  be  so,  and  if  good 
chalk  be  used,  it  will  cause  no  trouble  to  the  writer ;  but 
it  must  be  occasionally  re-painted.  The  black-board  is 
mounted  in  various  ways, — sliding  in  a  frame,  or  turning 
in  the  manner  of  a  looking-glass,  but  sometimes,  and  per- 
haps with  most  convenience,  merely  resting  on  an  easel. 

Letter-  ^76.  For  the   reading-lesson,  a  set  of  letter 

cards  and        ancj  Word  cards  are  required.     The  most  con- 

Lesson- 

sheets  for  venient  instrument  for  arranging  them  on  is  a 
wooden  board  with  a  few  projecting  ledges 
across  its  front.  The  box  for  containing  the  cards  should 
admit  of  their  classification.  Lesson-sheets  should  be 
mounted  on  pasteboard  and  provided  with  stands,  consist- 
ing of  a  wooden  rod  resting  on  a  firm  base,  and  with  two 
clasps,  the  lower  one  fixed  about  two  and  a  half  or  three 
feet  from  the  ground,  the  other  sliding.  There  should  be 
one  stand  for  each  class. 

B  n  frame  ^^'  ^or  ^essons  on  number,  the  following 
and  standard  articles  may  be  reckoned  :  The  ball-frame,  a 
hollow  square  frame  of  strong  wood,  from  1 5  to 
1 8  inches  in  the  side,  crossed  with  twelve  horizontal  wires, 
each  strung  with  ten  balls,  colored  alternately  with  differ- 
ent colors  for  helps  to  the  eye,  the  left-hand  half  of  the 
irame  being  covered  in  front  with  a  slip  of  wood  to  keep  a 
portion  of  the  balls  out  of  view — the  whole  fixed  on  a  frame 
about  three  and  a  half  feet  high  ;  scales  for  weighing,  with 
sand  or  shot  to  be  weighed  ;  the  various  standard  measures, 
with  duplicates  of  some,  as  specified  in  §§  127-132. 

278.  For  color  and  form,  the  apparatus  should 

Apparatus     .      .  \ 

for  Color  and  include  a  box  of  paints  with  cards  for  painting 

on ;    the  different  colors    in   worsted,   merino, 

paper,  sealing-wax,  or  wafers ;  boards  of  harmonious  colors  ; 


244  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

flexible  laths,  cane  and  cord,  for  exhibiting  lines  and  figures  ; 
representations  of  rectilinear  and  solid  figures,  some  shaded  ; 
a  box  of  the  geometrical  solids,  if  possible  admitting  of 
section ;  a  box  of  slates,  small,  strong,  and  unframed,  with 
string,  sponge,  and  pencil  attached,  all  as  specified  in 
§§134-155. 

279.  Pictures  are    necessary  for  object  and 

Pictures. 

other  lessons.  They  must  be  on  a  good  scale, 
so  as  to  be  seen  at  a  distance,  and  distinct  and  bold  in  out- 
line. Crowding  of  figures  is  to  be  avoided.  There  is  no 
need  of  letterpress  to  accompany  them  ;  picture-boards  are 
designed  for  conversational  lessons.  Different  sets  of  pic- 
tures are  required  :  (i)  A  set  illustrative  of  the  leading  in- 
cidents in  Scripture  history;  (2)  A  set  illustrative  of  natural 
history, — men,  animals,  trees,  and  plants ;  (3)  A  set  to  illus- 
trate geographical  lessons,  serving  as  picture-maps ;  (4)  A 
set  to  illustrate  the  different  trades.  A  press  or  box  should 
be  provided  to  hold  the  picture-boards.  It  has  been  stated 
already,  that  suspending  them  all  round  the  walls  of  the 
school  has  the  effect  of  making  them  too  common  in  the 
eyes  of  the  children,  and  so  detracts  greatty  from  their 
effect  when  used  in  a  lesson.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  have 
a  number  of  prints  of  a  better  sort  suspended  on  the  walls 
of  the  school,  representing  subjects  interesting  to  children, 
and  distinct  from  those  comprised  in  the  apparatus  for 
teaching.  This  has  a  good  effect,  from  the  appearance  of 
cheerfulness  and  neatness  it  gives  to  the  room,  and  there- 
fore from  its  influence  on  their  taste. 

280.  No    infant-school   is   properly  equipped 
ofCObjects°n    witnout  a  small  collection  of  objects  to  illus- 
trate   the    object    and    form    lessons.     Things 

themselves  are  better  than  their  representations,  when  they 
can  be  ha4 ;  things  alone  give  full  training  to  the  senses 


SCHOOL  APPARATUS.  245 

(§  26).  There  can  be  no  difficulty  in  furnishing  such  a 
museum,  for  it  should  consist  of  the  commonest  and  there- 
fore most  inexpensive  things.  The  teacher  would  find  it 
advantageous  to  invite  the  aid  of  the  pupils  and  their 
parents  in  collecting  materials.  They  will  generally  be  glad 
to  give  it.  It  is  hardly  possible,  or  perhaps  necessary,  to 
give  a  full  list  of  articles;  it  will  suffice  to  indicate  the 
kinds  of  articles  that  should  be  represented,  (i)  The  first 
place  is  due  to  articles  used  in  domestic  economy,  which 
are  at  once  the  most  essential,  the  cheapest,  and  the  most 
accessible, — cup,  saucer,  plate,  spoon,  knife,  fork,  wine-glass, 
egg-cup,  tin  jug,  hand-iron,  and  the  like ;  (2)  Textile  fab- 
rics, such  as  cotton,  linen,  silk,  woollen,  etc.,  in  all  their  dif- 
ferent stages  of  thread  and  cloth,  from  the  state  in  which 
nature  gives  us  them  up  to  the  forms  in  which  they  are 
used  for  clothing ;  (3)  Articles  used  in  the  different  trades, 
as  a  hammer,  nails  of  different  sorts,  needles  and  pins, 
types  for  printing  with,  a  little  saw  and  chisel,  a  shuttle,  a 
little  cart,  a  painter's  brush,  etc.;  (4)  Vegetable  products, 
such  as  pieces  of  the  different  kinds  of  wood,  the  different 
grains,  leaves,  and  berries  of  trees;  vegetable  products  used 
as  food,  as  rice,  barley,  coffee-beans,  etc.,  slips  of  plants 
like  the  cotton-plant,  tea  and  coffee  plants,  sugar-cane,  etc.; 
(5)  Animal  products,  specimens  of  preserved  animals,  of 
feathers,  of  skins,  of  shells,  etc.;  (6)  Minerals,  as  iron  in 
different  states,  lead,  tin,  copper,  stone,  lime,  coal,  etc.;  (7) 
Curiosities  of  any  sort  which  illustrate  the  customs  of  differ- 
ent people. 

HOW  to  use      28L  The  museum  should  not  be  arranged  in 
these.  glass  cases    round  the  school-room,  but  in    a 

separate  room,  or  in  common  presses,  for  the  same  reason 
that  the  pictures  should  not  be  publicly  exhibited  ;  and  it 
would  require  to  be  used  very  judiciously.  There  is  a 
temptation  to  over  use  it,  which  will  end  only  in  giving  thq 


2  46  EARL  Y  ED  UCA  TION. 

children  a  rooted  distaste  for  all  its  stores.  Things  should 
not  be  used  till  they  are  wanted,  and  then  only  when  the 
way  has  been  prepared  by  a  previous  excitement  of  the  in- 
terest of  the  children  in  what  is  to  be  displayed. 

Teacher's  ^82.  The  last  item  of  school-apparatus  which 
Library.  an  infant-school  should  have  is  a  small  but 
select  library  of  professional  books  for  the  use  of  the 
teacher  and  pupil-teachers.  The  teacher  may  be  supposed, 
no  doubt,  to  furnish  himself  with  a  number  of  the  most  es- 
sential books  on  his  profession,  but  he  cannot  obtain  all  he 
would  be  the  better  of  having,  and  the  pupil-teachers  may 
not  be  able  to  obtain  any.  A  small  sum  thus  invested  by 
school-managers  would  amply  repay  itself  in  the  general 
improvement  of  the  school-work.  One  or  two  books  in 
each  department  of  instruction  would  serve  the  purpose. 
The  teacher  would  of  course  require  to  know  what  the  most 
suitable  books  are  in  recommending  a  selection  ;  for  which 
purpose  a  few  have  been  mentioned  in  the  notes  to  the 
chapters  that  treat  of  the  different  subjects  of  instruction. 

Care  in  the  ^^'  Finally,  whatever  apparatus  is  attached 
Use  of  Ap-  to  a  school,  let  the  teacher  be  very  careful  of  it, 
and  require  his  assistants  to  be  the  same.  There 
is  a  great  difference  amongst  teachers  in  this  respect.  Let 
it  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  habit  of  carefulness  is  not 
only  valuable  as  a  part  of  moral  training,  but,  from  the  sav- 
ing which  it  effects,  is  the  surest  way  of  obtaining  an  en- 
largement of  the  apparatus  already  attached  to  the  school. 


PUPILr  TEA  CHERS.  247 


CHAPTER   IV. 

PUPIL-TEACHERS. 

Necessity  ^84.  WHEN  an  infant-school  is  carried  on 
sli"tfnin  with  the  aid  °*  pupil-teachers,  the  selection  and 
Pupil-Teach-  superintendence  of  these  is  an  important  and 
responsible  part  of  the  teacher's  duty.  They 
are,  on  the  whole,  the  best  kind  of  assistants  at  present 
within  reach.  In  such  a  school  the  old  "monitors"  who 
used  to  be  employed  are  of  little  value  as  aids  in  training  ; 
whilst  in  a  large  infant-school  one  adult  assistant  is  not 
sufficient  to  find  constant  engagement  for  all  the  classes. 
The  commonly  accepted  proportion  of  one  pupil-teacher  to 
forty  children  meets  the  difficulties  of  the  case.  Consider- 
ing how  much  the  efficiency  of  the  school  and  the  personal 
comfort  of  the  teacher  depend  on  the  manner  in  which  they 
perform  their  duties,  he  would  require  to  exercise  great  dis- 
crimination in  selecting  candidates  for  the  office. 

Tests  of  285.  In   pointing  out  the  tests  of  fitness  by 

which  he  should  be  guided,  it  is  sufficient  here 
to  refer  back  to  the  statement  already  given  of  the  qualities 
which  should  mark  the  infant-school  teacher  (§§  65,  236, 
238).  His  own  perception  of  character  must  show  him 
which  of  his  pupils  seem  to  manifest  a  liking  for  the  work, 
a  natural  turn  for  communicating  knowledge,  an  earnest 
and  humble,  yet  cheerful,  disposition,  the  habits  of  order 
and  tidiness,  together  with  sound  health  ;  these  are  recom- 
mendations that  should  weigh  more  than  mere  cleverness 
and  extent  of  attainments.* 


248  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

286.  The  duties  which  the  teacher  has  to  per- 
eif^ements  ^orm  towards  his  pupil-teachers  are  so  far  pre- 
of  the  Teach- scribed  in  the  terms  of  their  mutual   engage- 
them.              ment.     Regarding  the  daily  instruction  in  gen- 
eral subjects  which  he  is  bound  to  give  them, 

nothing  need  here  be  said;  their  annual  examination  is  a 
pretty  sure  test  of  its  efficiency.  The  nature  of  the  special 
professional  instruction  they  ought  to  receive  is  variously 
interpreted,  in  practice  at  least.  They  should  have  oppor- 
tunity in  the  course  of  their  service  of  engaging  in  all  the 
parts  of  the  work  ;  they  should  frequently  see  and  hear  how 
the  teacher  conducts  it,  and  be  engaged  in  conversation 
thereon ;  he  should  frequently  superintend  their  work  and 
watch  their  progress  ;  explanations  should  be  given  privately 
of  what  they  are  called  on  to  practise ;  and,  in  addition  to 
their  teaching  and  preparing  sketches  of  lessons,  they 
should  get  an  insight  into  the  whole  organization  of  the 
school.*  Intelligent  directions  and  frequent  incidental  con- 
versations will  be  of  more  service  for  this  purpose  than 
formal  exposition,  for  which,  perhaps,  their  previous  educa- 
tion has  not  fitted  them. 

287.  He  has  duties  towards  them,  however, 
Extent  of     which,  from  their  nature,  cannot  be  prescribed 

obligation  to-  ^Y  any  enactment.  He  is  bound  morally  to  do 
wards  them.  au  he  can  to  promote  their  personal  and  pro- 
fessional well-being ;  and,  therefore,  to  give 
them  all  the  directions,  warnings,  and  encouragements 
which  their  peculiar  circumstances  require.  For  example, 
their  usefulness  requires  that  they  be  invested  with  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  dignity  and  authority  in  the  eyes  of  the 
school.  It  depends  on  the  conduct  of  the  teacher  whether 
they  shall  attain  this  or  not ;  by  taking  them  into  his  con- 
fidence and  treating  them  in  a  respectful  way,  he  will  make 
them  respect  themselves,  and  secure  for  them  the  respect 


PUPIL-  TEA  CHERS.  249 

of  the  pupils.  At  the  same  time,  as  persons  young  in 
authority  and  therefore  little  skilled  in  using  it,  he  will  not 
compromise  both  himself  and  them  by  putting  on  them  a 
responsibility  they  are  unable  to  bear.  Again,  they  are  at 
a  period  of  life  when  their  tastes  are  just  being  formed. 
Let  him  charge  himself  with  some  superintendence  of  their 
private  reading  and  pursuits.  He  knows  what  will  best  pre- 
pare them  for  the  training  of  an  infant-school.  He  knows, 
eg.,  that  they  should  have  a  taste  for  both  in-door  and  out- 
of-door  things, — a  curiosity  about,  and  an  acquaintance 
with,  the  animals,  plants,  flowers,  stones,  etc.,  that  lie  about 
them ;  he  will,  therefore,  guard  them  against  mere  closet, 
and  especially  against  mere  verbal,  studies,  which  have  too 
little  general  human  interest  for  their  purposes,  and  will 
send  their  mind  and  fancy  abroad  amongst  the  richness, 
freshness,  and  variety  of  nature.  At  the  same  time  he  must 
foster  in  them  a  taste  for  reading  of  the  kind  that  will 
benefit  them  most  in  a  professional  way  :  biography,  natural 
history,  moral  tales  and  poetry,  out  of  which  they  may 
illustrate  and  beautify  their  teaching.  If  the  teacher  would 
show  occasionally  that  he  interests  himself  in  their  private 
studies,  he  will  do  almost  as  much  for  their  intellectual 
training  as  by  his  formal  lessons,  whilst  he  will  supply  a 
want  which  these  formal  lessons  never  can.  Lastly,  whilst 
firmly  maintaining  his  natural  authority  over  his  pupil- 
teachers,  under  the  conviction  that  the  best  preparation  for 
learning  to  command  is  to  learn  to  obey,  let  him  greatly 
mingle  the  character  of  friend  with  that  of  superior;  the 
character  of  the  Christian  man  with  that  of  the  Christian 
master.  For  professional  excellence  does  not  of  itself  fur- 
nish a  claim  to  love  and  regard  ;  to  do  so  it  must  be  based 
on  excellence  of  private  and  social  character.  Let  him 
cultivate  such  relations  with  them,  then,  that  they  may  con- 
fide in  him  as  a  friend,  and  feel  at  liberty  to  ask  his  advice 
in  everything  that  concerns  their  welfare. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


8.  TILL  recently  the  opinion  prevailed  that  the  organization  of 
the  brain  is  complete  about  the  seventh  year.     Later  experiments 
would  go  to  show,  however,  that  this  is  not  quite  the  case.     Still, 
comparing  the  average  weight  of  the  brain  in  men  (48  oz.  av.) 
with  its  average  weight  in  the  child  between  one  and  four  (39^ 
oz.),  the  average  weight  between  five  and  seven  (43$  oz.),  and  the 
average  weight  between  seven  and  ten  (46^  oz.),  we  are  warranted 
in  asserting,  as  in  the  text,  that  at  the  end  of  infancy  it  is  com- 
paratively  complete.     The   brain   attains   its   average   maximum 
weight  long  before  the  other  bodily  organs  attain  their  full  devel- 
opment ;  for  between  ten  and  thirteen  its  average  weight  is  given 
as  48^  oz.     Perhaps  still  more  extensive  observation  is  needed  on 
this  subject. — See  Todd's   Cyclopedia  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology, 
Art.  "  Nerves,"  or  Solly  on  the  Brain,  Part  IV. 

9.  A  detailed  account  of  the  structure  and  action  of  the  nervous 
system  must  be  sought  for  in  works  which  treat  of  physiology ; 
e.g.,    in  Todd's    Cyclopedia,  article  above  referred  to,  or  in   Car- 
penter's Physiology.     The  following  short   extract  from  Morell's 
Elements  of  Psychology,  chap.  iii.  sec.  2,  may  give  the  reader  a 
general  view  sufficient  for  his  purpose:     "If  we  can  imagine  the 
bone,  muscles,  skin,  and  all  the  other  portions  of  the  human  frame 
to   disappear,    and   the   nervous    system   alone   to   remain,    that 
remainder   would   present  to   our  view  the  entire    human  form, 
figured  out  towards  its  circumference  in  the  most  delicate  fibrous 
trace-work.     The  fibres,  however,  of  which  it  consists,  approach 
more  and  more  towards  a  solid  mass,  in  proportion  as  you  get 
nearer  the  central  line  or  axis  of  the  body,  first  uniting  together  in 
the  spinal  cord,  and  then  developing  themselves  at  the  summit  of 


NOTJSS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  251 

the  spine  into  the  whole  complex  structure  of  the  encephalon. 
Every  portion  of  the  body  is  thus  more  or  less  pene trated  by  these 
nerve-fibres;  and  the  impression  which  is  made  upon  any  one 
point  of  the  circumference  can  be  transmitted  with  unerring 
precision  towards  the  central  line,  and,  under  proper  conditions, 
still  upwards  to  its  final  expansion,  the  brain."  The  whole  section 
may  be  referred  to  for  a  view  of  the  inter  action  between  the  brain 
and  the  nervous  system  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  brain  and  the 
mind  on  the  other. 

11.  The  relation  between   exercise  and  growth,  both  physical 
and  mental,  is  fully  set  forth  in  an  article  by  Dr.  Barlow,  in  the 
Cyclopedia   of  Practical  Medicine,    on    'Physical    Education,'    to 
which  the  reader  is  refered. 

12.  On   the   topics    alluded    to   in   this   section,    Dr.    Andrew 
Combe's  treatise   on  Physiology  applied  to  Health   and  Education 
will  furnish  the  reader  with  all  the  information  he  can  desire. 

13.  See  Marcel  on  Language,  a  work  which,  owing  perhaps  to 
its  imperfect  title,  is  less  known  than  it  ought  to  be.     It  is,  in 
truth,  a  comprehensive  treatise  on  education,  which  will  not  often 
disappoint  the  reader  who  refers  to  it.     The  idea  in  this  section 
is  illustrated  at  length  in  Book  I.  chap.  i.  sec.  4,  from  which  the 
following  extract  is  made  in  extension  of  what  is  said  in  the  text: 
"The   accidental   and  variable   states  of  the  soul  are  not   alone 
expressed  by  the  external  appearances  of  the  body;  its  propensi- 
ties and  inclinations  are  also  indicated  by  an  habitual  deportment 
and  a  fixed  expression  of  countenance.     Moral  and  mental  habits 
produce   in    the   whole   person,    and   especially    in   the   external 
muscles  of  the  face,  corresponding  modifications  which  become 
permanent,  and  which    faithfully  represent  them.     The  habit  of 
low  thought  and   degrading  inclination  vilifies  the  features,  and 
that   of   thoughtlessness   and   ignorance    stupifies   them;  but   the 
ugliness  which  proceeds  from  vice  is  the  most  shocking  of  all; 
while  virtue  diffuses  an  unspeakable  charm  over  the  features,  and 
intellect  (intelligence?)  beams  in  the  eye  of  its  possessor.     What 
object  is   more  lovely  than    the  serene  and   bright   countenance 
which  bespeaks  brightness  and  benevolence,  intellect  and  wisdom  ? 
This  is   the  physical   beauty  to  which  every  human   being   may 


2 cj 2  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

aspire,  and  which  a  proper  moral  and  intellectual  education  can 
bestow." 

A  short  statement  of  the  diseases  of  children,  with  their  symptoms 
and  the  manner  of  their  treatment,  will  be  found  in  Appendix  B; 
and  the  infant-school  teacher  cannot  too  carefully  study  it. 

14.  This  characteristic  of  the  child's  nature  results  necessarily 
from  its  reflective  power  being  not  yet  developed,  so  that  it  does 
not  feel  the  sequence  and  connection  of  events  as  to  time.  Where 
this  power  is,  the  shadows  of  the  past  and  the  anticipations  of  the 
future  float  steadily  across  the  present.  The  man  lives  in  the 
past  and  future,  which  are  full  of  cares;  the  child  lives  in  the 
present,  thinking  not  of  the  yesterday  and  the  morrow,  and  the 
more  entirely  the  younger  he  is.  Hence  his  freedom  from  care. 

1 6.  The  words  quoted  are  those  of  the  author  of  Home  Educa- 
tion; whose  second  chapter  on  '  Happiness,  the  Necessary  Con- 
dition of  Home  Education,'  will  well  repay  perusal  in  this  con- 
nection. The  infant-school  teacher  should  carefully  study  the 
whole  work.  Though  written  with  an  immediate  view  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  child  who  is  being  educated  at  home,  it  will 
give  him  a  view  into  the  interior  of  the  child's  mind,  and  a  succes- 
sion of  hints  for  its  cultivation,  which  I  do  not  know  he  will  easily 
find  elsewhere.  With  ordinary  discrimination,  he  cannot  be  mis- 
led in  applying  its  teaching  to  his  own  circumstances. 

(2)  The  necessity  of  consulting  the  child's  happiness  in  his 
education,  and  the  way  of  doing  so,  seems  to  be  now  fully 
appreciated  by  writers  on  this  subject.  One  of  the  latest  of  these, 
in  a  little  work  entitled  Early  Influences,  written  in  an  earnest, 
pleasant  spirit,  though  somewhat  fragmentary,  has  the  following 
paragraph:  "  Childhood  is  especially  the  period  in  life,  indeed 
the  only  one,  when  joy  springs  out  of  everything,  when  mere 
existence  is  a  boundless  cause  of  happiness,  and  when  frolic  and 
laughter  seem  absolutely  necessary  to  unburden  the  heart  of  its 
superfluous  and  overflowing  merriment.  There  is  an  irresistible 
charm  in  this;  and  since  it  has  no  necessary  tendency  to  make  the 
character  unfeeling  or  regardless  of  others,  it  is  too  cruel  to  damp 
it  for  the  few  short  years  we  may  dare  hope  it  will  last.  Do 
not  impose  the  gravity  and  the  composure  that  become  the  years 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  2$$ 

of  manhood  upon  the  bright  and  thoughtless  head  of  childhood. 
So  far  as  amusement  is  innocent,  let  them  blow  those  glittering 
bubbles  while  they  can;  and  so  far  as  fun  and  frolic  do  not 
infringe  on  duty,  and  do  not  make  sport  with  the  feelings  or 
infirmities  of  another,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  to  give  them  fair 
play  is  more  likely  to  allow  room  for  a  healthy  mind  and  good 
feelings  to  grow  up,  than  if  you,  as  it  were,  cramp  the  free,  supple 
limbs  of  childhood  into  the  dignified  or  solemn  gait  of  its  elders. 
The  effect  of  too  much  restraint  in  early  years  will  always  show 
itself  somewhere.  Either  in  childhood  it  will  produce  morbidness 
and  unnatural  gloom,  or  conceit  and  affectation;  or  in  youth,  when 
the  restraints  of  home  and  education  are  necessarily  diminished, 
the  mind,  long  wearied  of  its  shackles  and  its  prison,  will  burst 
forth  into  excess  and  error;  and,  having  been  in  the  habit  of  con- 
necting principle  with  dulness  and  stupidity,  will  throw  it  all  away, 
and  give  itself  up  to  a  delirious  and  headlong  course  of  folly  and 
pleasure.  Be  content  with  making  children  good  as  children,  and 
do  not  cramp  them  into  dwarfish  representations  of  men  and 
women." — Chap.  iv. 

19.  This  principle,  the  "sympathy  of  numbers,"  is  largely  in- 
sisted on  in  Mr.  Stow's  work  entitled  The  Training  System,  chap, 
iii.,  and  elsewhere  throughout  the  book.  And  practically  it  occupies 
a  very  prominent  place  in  the  mode  of  education  with  which  his 
name  is  so  intimately  connected.  The  reader  may  further  refer  to 
vol.  i.  of  Papers  for  the  Schoolmaster,  which  contains  a  few  papers 
on  this  topic  written  in  the  spirit  of  Mr.  Stow's  work. 

(2)  The  extent  to  which  the  infant  school  can  avail  itself  of  the 
principle  of  sympathy  has  struck  nearly  all  writers  on  early 
education.  Madame  Necker  thus  speaks  of  it:  "Generally 
speaking,  children  seldom  take  as  models  those  who  differ  much 
from  them  either  in  age  or  situation.  They  soon  understand  how 
to  make  allowance  for  professional  prejudice  or  the  personal 
interest  of  those  who  address  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  domin- 
ion which  children  exercise  over  each  other  is  almost  unbounded. 
What  ever  may  be  the  difference  in  their  future  destination,  it 
vanishes  before  their  present  community  of  feeling  and  equality 
of  situation.  Their  influence  over  each  other  must,  therefore,  be 


254  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

either  very  dangerous  or  highly  useful;  and  by  obtaining  the 
direction  of  it  we  secure  to  ourselves  the  advantage  of  a  most 
powerful  instrument  in  education.  This  circumstance  accounts 
for  the  continually  increasing  success  of  infant  schools.  In  these 
institutions  a  sort  of  reciprocal  moral  instruction  takes  place. 
Order,  exactness,  obedience,  truth,  justice,  civility,  are  communi- 
cated from  one  child  to  another  by  the  force  of  example;  and 
from  the  external  imitation  of  these  qualities  a  real  feeling  of  them 
is  produced.  And  in  the  same  manner,  as  regards  their  lessons, 
it  is  often  possible  to  fix  the  attention  of  a  number  of  children 
upon  objects  in  which  it  would  have  been  very  difficult  to  interest 
a  single  child.  Every  subject  of  examination  which  is  proposed 
to  them  becomes  a  sort  of  earnest  amusement,  and  engages  their 
whole  attention;  and  the  interest  which  one  child  begins  to  take 
in  it  is  communicated  to  all." — Progressive  Education  (Eng.  trans. ), 
vol.  ii.  book  ii.  chap.  4. 

23.  This  fact  of  the  prominence  of  sight  as  a  knowledge-giving 
sense  is  embodied  in  our  very  language.  Thus,  when  we  speak 
of  observing  or  perceiving  a  thing,  we  are  understood  to  refer  to 
sight,  though  the  words  themselves  are  just  as  applicable  to  the 
other  senses  as  to  it.  So  we  symbolize  knowledge  by  light  and 
enlightenment;  whilst  we  speak  of  mental  vision,  mental  blindness, 
the  mind's  eye,  etc. 

(f)  The  two  quotations  are  from  Morell's  Elements  of  Psychology, 
chap.  iii.  sect.  3,  which  treats  of  the  "Varieties  of  Sensation." 

Cj:)  The  following  extract  sets  forth  the  difference  in  character 
between  the  higher  and  the  lower  senses  :  "  Conscious  states 
differ  remarkably  in  this  particular  [the  more  or  less  facility  of 
reviving  the  ^state  or  feeling  in  the  absence  of  the  physical  cause, 
the  case  of  stirring  up  the  experience  as  a  recollection  or  idea]; 
some  that  are  most  intense  while  they  last  are  very  difficult  to 
realize  as  matter  of  recollection;  their  intellectual  or  ideal  exist- 
ence is  of  a  low  order.  Others  again  are  remarkable  for  their 
conceivability  by  an  intellectual  effort,  and  are  therefore  more 
prone  to  enter  into  the  ideal  life  of  the  individual  ;  such  are  the 
emotions  of  spectacle,  the  feelings  of  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime. 
We  recognize  a  superior  dignity  in  the  emotions  that  have  an  ideal 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  255 

or  intellectual  persistence,  as  compared  with  such  as  can  exist  only 
in  the  actual,  or  while  their  physical  stimulus  is  present."  Then 
speaking  of  pains  as  organic  sensations,  the  writer  says  that 
"  they  do  not  persist  in  the  intellect  as  ideal  emotions,  and  are 
not  easily  revived  in  any  effort  of  recollection.  Of  all  intense 
feelings  they  may  be  reckoned  to  stand  lowest  in  these  peculiari- 
ties; whereby  their  influence  and  malignancy  become  confined  to 
the  evil  hour  of  their  real  presence." — Bain  on  the  Senses  and 
Intellect,  p.  90.  The  idea  in  the  last  sentence  may  be  much  more 
broadly  set  forth.  We  have  seen  that  all  the  physical  senses  are 
of  a  low  intellectual  order;  and  it  is  well  for  us  that  they  are 
so.  What  sort  of  beings  should  we  otherwise  be?  A  pain  once 
felt  would  be,  so  far,  a  pain  felt  at  every  recollection  of  it;  un- 
pleasant sensations  of  any  sort  that  we  had  ever  experienced 
would  be  our  constant  tormentors.  Equally  unfortunate  would 
it  be  if  our  sensations  or  physical  pleasure  could  be  recalled  with 
power.  Then  we  should  be  constantly  recalling  them,  and  they 
would  swamp  our  mental  activity.  From  both  these  fates  we  are 
preserved  by  the  low  intellectual  character  of  the  physical  senses. 

25.  The  reader  will  find  much  pleasing  illustration  of  this  topic 
in  a  little  work  by    Dr.  George  Wilson,    The  Five  Gateways  of 
Knowledge:  the  object  of  which  is  generally  to  urge  the  cultivation 
of  the  senses. 

26.  Even  when   objects  are  introduced  to  a  class,  they  are,  for 
the  most  part,  very  partially  used.     The  teacher  often  seems  to 
think  it  enough  for  the  class  to  see  it  in  a  very  general  way.     They 
should   be  made  to   inspect   it,  however,  individually,  as   far  as 
circumstances  will  permit,  to  hear  its  sound,  if  the  object  admit  of 
it,  and  to  handle  it.     It  is  by  this,  and  not  by  merely  speaking  of 
things  even  when  they  are  in  presence,  that  the  child's  observation 
is  sharpened.     If  the  privilege  of  ocular  or  tactual  inspection  be 
accorded  to  the  attentive  pupils,  a  great  stimulus  is  given  to  the 
attention  of  the  whole  class. 

(2)  Complex  sensations'  "Those  resulting  from  the  combina- 
tion of  optical  effect  with  the  feelings  of  movement  arising  out  of 
the  muscles  of  the  eye-ball.  As  in  the  case  of  touch,  this  combina- 
tion is  necessary  as  a  basis  of  those  perceptions  of  the  external 


256  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

world  that  are  associated  with  sight.  It  is  admitted  that  mere 
light  and  color  will  not  suffice  to  found  these  perceptions  upon." 
— Bain  on  the  Senses  and  Intellect,  p.  239.  The  reader  is  referred 
to  this  work  for  a  full  and  clear  statement  of  the  phenomena  and 
character  of  the  senses. 

(3)  The  influence  of  the  laws  of  sensation  on  practical  instruction 
is  recognized,  and,  with  more  or  less  success,  traced  in  an  article 
in  the  North  British  Review,  February  1854,  entitled  "  The  Art  of 
Education."  See  also  a  paper  in  the  first  publication  of  the  Cen- 
tral Society  of  Education,  "  On  the  Education  of  the  Senses." 

29.  On  the  subject  of  this  paragraph,  the  reader  should  refer  to 
Taylor's  Home  Education,  chap,  x.,  "  On  the  Culture  of  the  Con- 
ceptive  Faculty   in   Connection   with   Language."     The  exercise 
exhibited  in  the  text  is  sometimes  condemned  as  a  mere  heaping 
together  of  words  which  the  child  cannot  understand.     It  may  de- 
generate into  this;  but  where  the  observation  is  bona  fide  exercised, 
the   idea  enters   the  mind   before  the   term,  and   the  exercise  is 
altogether  suitable  for  young  children.     There  is  another  point  of 
view  from  which  such  lessons  may  appear  useless,  as  the  reader 
may  see  by  referring  to  Mr.  Moseley's  Report  in  the  Minutes  of 
Council  for  1853-54.     It  is  where  a  lesson  of  this  sort  is  palmed 
off  on  a  class  of  advanced  pupils  under  the  name  of  a  lesson  "  on 
common  things."     To  such  a  class  a  lesson  of  this  sort  is  just  one 
on  words,  not  by  any  means  giving  to  them  the  discipline  which  it 
does  to  a  young  class.     Mr.  Moseley  is   speaking  expressly   of 
instruction  in  common  things  ;  and  from  that  point  of  view  his 
criticism  is  just.     But  his  words  are  not  to  be  construed  into  a 
condemnation  of  the  kind  of  lesson  before  us,  at  all  times  and  in 
all  places,  though  they  have  been  often  thoughtlessly  quoted  as  if 
this  were  their  meaning. 

30.  See  Locke's  Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding,  book  iii., 
"On" Words,"  chaps,  i,  2,  3. 

31.  Stow's  Training  System,  chap.  iv. 

32.  It    is   often,    and   not    incorrectly,    said  that   to   cultivate 
attention  is  the  first  object  of  intellectual  education.     To  under- 
stand this,  however,  a  little  explanation  is  necessary.     Attention 
is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  if  it  were  a  distinct  faculty:  it  is  rather 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  257 

a  state  or  quality  of  the  faculties.  Continuousness  of  operation  by 
any  one  of  them,  whether  it  be  the  perception,  the  reason,  or  the 
imagination,  is  attention.  In  infancy,  it  is  evidently  a  state  of 
the  observation  or  conception;  so  that  we  may  express  the  design 
of  intellectual  education  at  this  time  in  either  of  these  ways:  It  is 
to  cultivate  attention  through  the  medium  of  the  observation  and 
conception ;  or  it  is  to  cultivate  the  observation  and  the  conception, 
to  which  end  attention  is  essential. 

34.  Miss  Edgeworth,  in  her  story  of  "The  Good  French  Gover- 
ness," exhibits  the  change  that  takes  place  on  listless  and  appar- 
ently naughty  pupils,  when  proper  motives  are  presented  to  them 
for  attention. 

(f)  With  regard  to  curiosity,  Locke  observes  that  child  rep 
should  be  trained  to  silence  with  respect  to  their  whims  and 
fanciful  desires,  but  to  speak  to  their  instructors  when  it  is 
information  that  they  desire.  "For,  whenever,  reason  would 
speak,  it  should  be  hearkened  to;  but  as  they  should  never  be  heard 
when  they  speak  for  any  particular  thing  they  would  have,  unless 
it  first  be  proposed  to  them,  so  they  should  always  be  heard,  and 
fairly  and  kindly  answered,  when  they  ask  about  anything  they 
would  know  and  desire  to  be  informed  about.  Curiosity  should  be 
as  carefully  cherished  in  children,  as  other  appetites  suppressed." 
Thoughts  concerning  Education,  §  108.  See  also  §  167. 

And  with  regard  to  sympathy,  Madame  Necker  says:  "There  is 
nothing  so  likely  to  excite  these  tastes  as  possessing  them  our- 
selves, and  associating  our  child  with  us  in  the  pleasure  we 
receive  from  them.  The  idea  that  we  are  constantly  occupied 
about  him  may  excite  his  gratitude,  but  will  not  determine  the 
direction  of  his  inclinations;  but  if  children  see  that  our  interest 
is  awakened,  and  our  curiosity  excited,  by  the  idea  of  making  some 
new  observation  or  ascertaining  some  new  fact,  they  will  soon  try 
to  anticipate  our  discoveries.  If  they  observe  us  interested  in  the 
cultivation  of  flowers,  in  watching  the  labors  of  the  bee  or  the 
metamorphoses  of  insects,  they  will  soon  be  delighted  themselves 
with  these  occupations.  Example,  emulation,  curiosity — the  most 
natural  stimulants  at  an  age  when  pleasure  is  so  vividly  enjoyed, 

»7 


258  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

and  the  idea  of  utility  so  indistinct — will  all  act  in  unison."  Pro- 
gressive Education,  vol.  ii.  pp.  73,  74. 

35.  This  is  well  exemplified  in  Miss  Edgeworth's  Essay  on 
Tasks  in  "  Essays  on  Practical  Education''' 

(f)  On  the  influence  of  difference  of  temperament  on  attention, 
Edgeworth's  Essay  on  Attention  may  be  consulted.  On  the  list- 
less temperament,  in  particular,  Locke  has  some  very  pertinent 
observations.  Thoughts  concerning  Education,  sects.  123-126. 

37.  This  point  is  put  with  great  force  by  the  author  of  Home 
Education.  "The  furniture  of  the  conceptive  faculty,  as  derived 
from  the  objects  of  sight,  constitutes  the  principal  wealth  of  the 
mind,  and  upon  the  ready  command  of  these  treasures,  with  some 
specific  end  in  view,  depends  in  great  measure  its  power.  The 
quality  and  extent  of  these  ideal  stores,  and  the  degree  in  which 
they  are  available  as  materials  for  the  other  faculties  to  work  upon, 
are  a  chief  reason  of  the  vast  difference  between  one  mind  and 
another,  and  generally  of  the  difference  between  cultured  and 
uncultured  minds.  Whatever  may  be  the  path  of  exertion  pursued 
by  any  one,  and  even  if  it  may  lead  over  ground  the  most  remote 
from  the  regions  of  the  imagination,  it  will  still  be  true  that,  if  the 
conceptive  faculty  in  the  particular  department  which  the  mind 
occupies  be  full,  fraught  with  its  proper  objects,  and  be  prompt  in 
producing  its  stores,  such  a  mind  will  take  the  lead  among  others." 
Home  Education,  chap.  ix. 

44.  For  further  illustration  of  the  sense  of  resemblance  and 
analogy,  the  reader  may  see  chapter  xi.  of  the  work  named  in  the 
previous  note. 

47.  The  difference  between  the  two  uses  of  terms  is  illustrated 
perhaps  by  the  nomenclature  of  chemistry.  The  term  sulphuric 
acid,  for  instance,  conveys  a  certain  image  and  certain  associations 
to  the  person  who  has  seen  it  and  used  it;  but  in  chemistry, 
sulphur,  with  reference  to  its  equivalence,  is  written  °  or  S  O3. 
The  popular  name  is  given  to  the  image  which  observation  forms 
of  the  thing.  The  symbol  addresses  itself  to  the  (scientific)  under- 
standing as  a  formal  term. 

The  following  passage  is  quoted  as  illustrative  of  the  sphere  of 
the  understanding;  "A  sentence  or  proposition  in  language 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  259 

answers  to  a  complete  thought  in  psychology.  By  a  complete 
thought,  in  the  sphere  of  the  understanding,  we  mean  a  distinct 
act  of  comparison  between  two  terms,  in  which  we  apprehend  the 
relationship  that  exists  between  them.  All  logical  or  formal  thought 
answers  exactly  to  this  explanation;  and  the  mental  activity  by 
which  we  compare  terms,  find  out  their  exact  agreement  or 
disagreement,  give  expression  to  this  in  propositions,  and  deduce 
other  propositions  from  them,  is  that  which,  par  excellence,  bears 
the  title  of  the  UNDERSTANDING." 

The  abstract  notions  and  generalized  ideas  which  have  been 
formed  in  the  manner  before  explained,  and  which  are  now  held 
distinct  from  each  other  by  means  of  words,  universally  retain, 
amongst  those  who  have  experienced  the  intuitions  out  of  which 
they  are  formed,  some  impress  of  their  origin.  When,  however,  the 
mind  begins  to  deal  with  them  for  purposes  of  formal  reasoning, 
and  regards  them  merely  as  terms  to  be  compared  and  estimated, 
it  soon  loses  all  sight  of  those  intuitions,  and  seeks  to  fix  the  mean- 
ing of  each  term  it  employs  by  pointing,  not  to  the  phenomena 
in  nature  which  they  are  intended  to  denote,  but  to  the  other  terms, 
which  they  either  exclude  or  comprehend  in  their  logical  significa- 


tion. 


Having  become  in  this  way  apt  in  the  use  of  language,  and 
accustomed  to  employ  words  according  to  their  defined  logical 
signification,  it  is  a  very  easy  step  for  us  to  make  use  of  terms, 
without  having  ever  experienced  the  real  phenomena  that  led  to 
their  formation.  We  may  obtain  the  most  precise  knowledge  of 
the  logical  meaning  of  such  terms,  understand  exactly  what  other 
terms  agree  or  disagree  with  them,  use  them  correctly  in  conver- 
sation and  argument,  employ  them  with  the  utmost  accuracy  as 
signs  of  a  given  formal  comprehension,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
we  have  never  possessed  one  of  the  intuitions,  or  of  the  mental 
images,  out  of  which  the  abstraction  originally  proceeded. — Morell's 
Elements  of  Psychology,  chap,  vi.,  sect.  I. 

(f)  This  was  the  rock  on  which  much  of  the  earlier  infant-school 
teaching  split.  The  "intellectual  system"— first  exemplified  in 
Wood's  well-known  Account  of  the  Edinburgh  Sessional  School — is, 
doubtless,  fully  adapted  to  answer  its  design  of  cultivating  the 


260  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

understanding  of  advanced  pupils.  But  it  was  by  a  singular 
mistake  that  it  was  in  many  cases  transferred  pure  and  simple  to 
the  infant  school.  That  system  required  for  its  own  fruition  an 
anterior  process  of  an  entirely  different  sort,  the  cultivation  of  the 
observation  and  the  conception:  it  is  not  fully  effective  without 
this  preparatory  course  as  a  basis  to  rest  on.  The  character 
of  many  of  the  early  school-books  published  for  use  in  infant 
schools  quite  justifies  the  severe  remarks  of  Dr.  Andrew  Combe 
in  chap.  xvi.  of  his  work  on  the  Management  of  Infancy. 

48.  The  questioning  in  this  lesson,  which  is  such  a  one  as  may 
be  heard  any  day  in  infant  schools,  is  not  open  to  any  objection 
on  the  score  of   logical   arrangement   or   of   simplicity;   on   the 
contrary,  it  shows  both  of  these  features.     It  is  such  questioning 
as  would  be  given  by  a  teacher  who  has  given  some  thought  to  the 
nature  of  elementary  teaching,  and  perceives  clearly  the  necessity 
of  clearness   and  simplicity  of  language,  yet  who  is  only  in  the 
second  stage  of  his  progress  as  to  skill  in  teaching.     The  lesson  is 
good  of  its  style,  but  its  style  is  not  the  proper  one.     The  final 
step  in  progress  in  infant-school  teaching  is   to  pass  from   the 
teaching  which  exercises  the  understanding  to  that  which  appeals 
to  the  conceptive  faculty,  and  to  handle  this  style  well. 

49.  "When  the  child  first  passes  on  to  regular  instruction   in 
language,  his  thoughts  range  through  a  very   narrow  circle,  and, 
as  it  were,  only  over  the  surface  of  the  things  in  his  immediate 
vicinity.     And   what  shall   we   say  of  his   intelligence  and   pen- 
etration ?     It  is  with  difficulty  that  he  connects  two  proximate 
ideas.     Then  it  is  useless  to  prepare  for  him  a  train  of  reasoning, 
however  simple;  still  more  useless  to  submit  to  him  the  most  con- 
clusive chain,  for  you  will  never  bring  him  any  nearer  to  the  con- 
clusion, because   from  weakness  he  will  have  lost  sight  of   the 
antecedents,  and,  therefore,  will  have  no  materials  for  comparison, 
no  means  of  conclusion.     There  are  no  leaps  either  in  the  oper- 
ations of  the  intellectual  or  in  the  physical  world.     Language, 
which  is  the  expression  of  thought,  is  also  its  image.     Now,  the 
pupil  at  seven  or  eight  years  old  only  speaks  in  propositions  com- 
posed  of  few  ideas,  or  in  phrases  which  express  at  most  two 
thoughts,  with  little  Combination  and  of  easy  instruction,     He 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  261 

attempts  nothing  further  because  he  is  not  strong  enough.  If  you 
wish  to  lead  him  on  you  must  gradually  expand  his  powers  of 
conception  by  well-graduated  exercises."  La  Langue  Maternelle,  by 
the  Abbe  Girard  (Lord  Ebrington's  Translation),  chap.  iii.  sect.  4. 

50.  Compare  sections  14  and  16,  with  the  notes  upon  them, 
for  illustration  of  the  child's  imaginativeness. 

54.  "Imagination,"  says  Madame  Necker,  "by  connecting 
itself  with  the  future,  becomes  the  source  of  hope.  What  would 
be  our  moral  condition  if  the  imagination  were  suppressed  ?  In- 
capable of  foreseeing  either  the  pleasure  of  executing  our  plans,  or 
the  good  likely  to  result  from  their  success,  we  should  remain  idly 
stationary;  having  no  motive  to  exertion,  our  energies  would  be 
completely  deadened."  Again,  speaking  of  its  influence  on  the 
intellect:  "  The  task  of  instruction  [in  the  case  of  children  devoid 
of  it]  becomes  almost  insurmountable.  Even  when  minds, 
though  incapable  of  nobler  interests,  are  open  to  physical  pleas- 
ures, so  little  power  have  they  of  looking  forward,  that  these  can- 
not be  held  out  to  them  as  rewards;  and  if  by  chance  they  do  con- 
ceive any  desire,  the  whole  force  of  their  will  is  concentrated  on 
that  one  point — they  cannot  be  made  to  comprehend  any  sug- 
gested substitute.  From  these  indisputable  facts  we  may  learn 
that  the  imagination,  far  from  being  only,  as  sometimes  desig- 
nated, the  fool  of  the  family,  performs  a  most  important  part  in 
our  intellectual  development." 

"  It  is  a  great  mistake,"  says  Mrs.  Montgomery,  "  to  suppose  it 
advisable  to  exclude  children  from  works  of  imagination,  or  to 
seek  in  every  way  to  crush  and  destroy  that  noble  power — that 
link  to  things  unseen — that  faculty  by  which  we  embrace  truths 
we  cannot  understand,  and  by  which  we  live  in  a  spiritual  and 
higher  world.  Faith  is  the  exalted,  the  sanctified,  the  religious 
form  of  imagination,  and  it  is  surely  unnecessary  to  treat  with 
disregard  and  persecution  the  power  by  which  we  grasp  the  in- 
visible realities  of  a  spiritual  existence." 

54.  There  is  one  sphere  in  which  the  object  of  cultivating  the  im- 
agination must  be  to  restrain  it — the  sphere  of  the  affections  and 
motives  to  every-day  conduct.  If  it  be  allowed  to  wander  at  will 


262  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

through  this,  the  disposition  becomes  dreamy  and  melancholy,  the 
conduct  unpractical. 

On  this  important  subject,  see  Necker's  Progressive  Education, 
vol.  ii.  chap.  viii. ;  Early  Influences,  chap.  vi. ;  Taylor's  Home 
Education,  chap.  ix. ;  and  Edgeworth's  Practical  Education. 

55.  Matt.  xxii.  37,  38;  xxii.  39;  Matt.  vii.  12;  i  John  iii.  20,  21. 
See  also  Rom.  xii.  15.  The  same  truth  was  declared  (in  the  later 
days  at  least)  of  the  dispensation  of  religion  that  preceded  Chris- 
tianity. "  He  hath  showed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good;  and  what 
doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy, 
and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  ?" — Micah,  vi.  8. 

58.  "And  will  you  tell  me,  whilst  I  am  working  [said  Amy 
Herbert  to  her  mamma],  what  you  had  not  time  to  speak  about 
yesterday  ?  I  mean,  why  it  never  does  people  any  good  to  go 
and  see  others  suffer  merely  from  curiosity." 

"It  not  only  does  them  no  good,  but  it  does  them  harm,"  re- 
plied Mrs.  Herbert,  "and  for  this  reason:  God  gives  to  almost 
every  one,  and  especially  to  young  people,  many  kind,  amiable 
feelings,  as  a  sort  of  treasure  which  they  are  carefully  to  keep. 
Now,  these  kind  feelings,  as  people  grow  older,  gradually  die 
away  as  they  get  accustomed  to  the  sight  of  suffering,  and  so  at 
last  they  are  likely  to  become  cold  and  hard-hearted;  and  there  is 
only  one  sure  way  of  preventing  this — by  doing  kind  actions 
whenever  we  are  blessed  with  kind  feelings.  Perhaps  you  would 
rather  I  would  explain  myself  more  clearly,"  added  Mrs.  Herbert, 
as  Amy  laid  down  her  work  and  looked  thoughtfully  in  her 
mother's  face.  When  you  saw  Susan  Reynolds  yesterday,  you 
had  compassion  for  her,  and  a  great  wish  to  help  her — this  was 
the  good  feeling  given  you  by  God;  but  supposing  you  had 
thought  that,  after  all,  it  was  too  much  trouble  to  work  for  her, 
you  would  soon  have  forgotten  her;  and  the  next  time  you  saw 
her  you  would  probably  have  pitied  her  less,  and  the  next  less 
still;  and  if  you  had  gone  on  so,  you  might  have  ended  in  becom- 
ing perfectly  cold  and  selfish;  but  by  determining  to  do  something 
you  have  kept  up  your  interest,  and  you  will  find  that  your  kind 
feeling  will  continue  and  increase,  not  only  for  her,  but  for  other 
persons  you  may  see  in  distress," 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  263 

"  But  then  I  have  heard  you  say,  mamma,  that  we  ought  not  to 
follow  our  feelings  entirely." 

"No,"  replied  Mrs.  Herbert;  "because  very  often  our  feelings 
are  wrong,  and  therefore  we  must  have  some  other  rule  to  go  by, 
or  we  shall  continually  mistake  our  duties;  but  when  they  are 
right,  they  are  given  us  by  God  to  make  those  duties  easy  and 
pleasant;  and  if  we  do  not  encourage  them  we  shall  find,  when  we 
grow  old,  that  it  will  be  very  difficult,  if  not  almost  impossible,  to 
do  right,  however  we  may  wish  it." 

"  Then,  mamma,  if  we  had  always  good  feelings,  there  would 
be  no  occasion  to  do  anything  but  just  what  we  felt  inclined;  how 
very  nice  that  would  be  !" 

"There  is  but  one  way  of  getting  these  good  feelings,"  said 
Mrs.  Herbert,  "  and  that  is,  by  doing  what  we  know  we  ought, 
whether  we  like  it  or  not;  and  only  one  way  of  keeping  them 
when  we  have  got  them,  by  taking  care  always  to  act  upon  them; 
and  if  we  begin  when  we  are  young,  it  is  astonishing  how  easy  it 
will  soon  become." — Amy  Herbert,  chap.  v. 

This  pretty  tale  is  written  to  exemplify  moral  training  in  the 
family,  and  will  give  the  reader  a  good  insight  into  the  manage- 
ment of  the  feelings  and  the  will  in  children.  No  teacher,  and 
especially  no  infant-school  teacher,  can  read  it  without  profiting 
by  its  good  sense,  as  well  as  by  its  pious  and  gentle  spirit. 

The  point  insisted  on  in  this  section  is  one  of  vital  importance; 
it  constitutes  the  difference,  indeed,  between  education  or  training 
and  instruction.  The  greatest  merit,  as  it  seems  to  me,  of  Mr. 
Stow's  excellent  volume  on  the  Training  System,  is  the  promi- 
nence it  gives  to  action  in  moral  training  as  distinct  from  rule. — 
"  The  only  way  to  do  a  thing  is  just  to  do  it."  Locke  long  ago 
enforced  the  same  truth  on  an  age  not  prepared  to  understand 
him.  "  And  here  give  me  leave  to  take  notice  of  one  thing  I 
think  a  fault  in  the  ordinary  method  of  education;  and  that  is,  the 
charging  the  children's  memories,  upon  all  occasions,  with  rules 
and  precepts  which  they  often  do  not  understand,  and  which  are 
constantly  as  soon  forgot  as  given.  If  it  be  some  action  you 
would  have  done,  or  done  otherwise;  whenever  they  forget  or  do 
it  awkwardly,  make  them  do  it  over  and  over  again  till  they  are 


264  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

perfect,  whereby  you  will  get  these  two  advantages:  First,  to  see 
whether  it  be  an  action  they  can  do,  or  is  fit  to  be  expected  of 
them;  secondly,  that  by  repeating  the  same  action  till  it  be  grown 
habitual  in  them,  the  performance  will  not  depend  on  memory  or 
reflection,  the  concomitant  of  prudence  and  age,  and  not  of  child- 
hood, but  will  be  natural  in  them.  Pray,  remember  that  children 
are  not  to  be  taught  by  rules  which  will  be  always  slipping  out  of 
their  memories.  What  you  think  necessary  for  them  to  do,  settle 
on  them  by  an  indispensable  practice,  as  often  as  the  occasion  re- 
turns, and,  if  it  be  possible,  make  occasions.  This  method  has 
so  many  advantages,  which  way  soever  we  consider  it,  that  I  can- 
not but  wonder  (if  ill  customs  could  be  wondered  at  in  anything) 
how  it  could  possibly  be  so  much  neglected." — Thoughts  of  Edu- 
cation, sects.  64,  65,  66.  This  is  the  germ  of  the  Training  System. 

60.  See  Necker,  vol.  i.  book  i.  chap.  v. 

6r.  On  the  moral  use  of  the  imagination,  reference  may  be  made 
to  the  work"  of  Girard,  already  quoted;  for  the  principle,  to  pp.  88, 
89,  and  for  the  way  of  using  it,  to  pp.  144,  145.  It  may  be  said  of 
this  work — one  of  the  earlier  works  on  modern  teaching — that 
whilst,  in  a  certain  sense,  it  has  lost  part  of  its  value  from  the 
fact  that  the  principles  of  teaching  advocated  in  it  have  been  long 
since  substantially  adopted,  it  will  still  amply  repay  the  teacher's 
perusal — on  the  one  hand,  as  exhibiting  the  kind  of  argument  by 
which  the  method  of  teaching  he  daily  practises  was  vindicated, 
whilst  still  a  novelty;  and,  on  the  other  and  chiefly  (to  use  the 
words  of  the  translator's  preface),  "from  the  delightful  picture  it 
presents  of  the  author's  piety,  benevolence,  and  delicacy  of 
feeling." 

The  moral  abuse  of  the  imagination  (if  we  may  use  the  expres- 
sion) is  referred  to  in  Abercrombie  On  the  Philosophy  of  the  Moral 
Feelings,  part  i.  sect.  ii.  Remarks  on  Habit. — See  also  the  note  on 
sect.  58. 

63.  Rom.  xii.  21. — Neither  is  it  prudent  in  dealing  with  children 
to  draw  the  distinction  too  widely  between  the  real  character  of 
men  and  their  outward  conduct.  Thus,  with  respect  to  kindness 
to  the  poor,  it  is  too  true  that  many  poor  are  quite  undeserving  of 
charity,  and  that  many  solicit  it  on  false  pretences.  But  it  is 


NOT2S  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  265 

better  that  a  few  acts  of  such  undeserved  charity  should  be  per- 
formed by  the  child,  than  that  at  this  tender  period  suspicion 
should  take  possession  of  him.  There  is  no  surer  way  to  crush  all 
exercise  of  the  benevolent  feelings  than  prematurely  to  raise  these 
suspicions.  This  discerning  between  reality  and  counterfeit  will, 
and  must,  come  betimes;  but  for  the  child,  let  him  "  rake  not  into 
the  bowels  of  unwelcome  truth  to  save  a  halfpenny:  it  is  good  to 
believe."  These  remarks  apply  to  other  feelings  as  well. 

66.  Another  reason  may  be  given  for  attending  to  this  direction. 
Madame  Necker  observes:  "  By  giving  children  habits  of  comply- 
ing with  certain  physical  and  conventional  regulations,  we  are  ex- 
empting their  minds  from  future  care  on  these  subjects.  The 
more  we  make  use  in  this  respect  of  the  instinct  of  imitation,  the 
more  we  shall  spare  ourselves  hereafter  the  pain  of  having  to  pre- 
scribe, as  duties,  things  which  are  not  such  in  reality,  yet  which 
are  almost  indispensable:  and  we  shall  thus,  too,  render  an  ines- 
timable service  to  the  child.  How  much,  embarrassment,  how 
much  awkwardness,  how  much  waste  both  of  time  and  thought  is 
often  occasioned  even  to  grown  men  by  doubts  respecting  the  pro- 
priety of  the  most  trifling  actions." — Vol.  i.  book  ii.  chap.  i. 

68.  It  will  be  seen  that  we  treat  "  religious  education"  under  the 
general  head  of  Moral.  It  may  be  necessary  here  to  remark,  that 
God,  as  presented  to  the  child  in  infancy,  is  the  object  of  the  feel- 
ings, and  not  of  the  intellect.  His  character  is  to  be  held  forth 
for  love  by  the  child,  and  not  his  attributes  for  discussion.  Locke's 
few  remarks  on  this  subject,  in  his  I36th  section,  are  strikingly 
judicious,  and  an  exact  anticipation  of  the  best  modern  practice 
in  school  education. 

69  Description  of  the  Symbolical  School. —  Wilhelm  Meister's 
Travels,  chap.  x. 

71.  All  the  common  works  on  education  treat  of  this  virtue,  so 
that  it  is,  perhaps,  hardly  necessary  to  refer  to  authorities  here. 
Yet,  on  a  matter  of  such  moment,  the  teacher  should  read  and  medi- 
tate much.  Locke,  sects.  131,  132;  Edgeworth,  Practical  Educa- 
tion, chap.  viii. ;  Necker,  vol.  i.  book  ii.  chap,  iv.,  will  afford  suf- 
ficient materials  for  this  purpose.  It  may  be  added  here,  once  for 


266  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

all,  that  the  same  writers  may  be  referred  to  on  the  other  feelings, 
which  it  is  the  business  of  early  education  to  cherish. 

74.  I  would  fain  dwell  at  greater  length  on  these  personal  vir- 
tues, particularly  that  of  cleanliness, — cleanliness  in  person,  and 
cleanliness  in  respect  of  surrounding  circumstances.     How  much 
the  want  of  this  adds  to  the  discomfort  of  the  lower  classes  of 
society  in  this  country  needs  not  to  be  mentioned.     If  the  want  is 
ever  to  be  supplied,  it  must  be  by  laying  the  foundation  of  the 
habit  of  cleanliness  in  infancy.     The  personal  influence  of  the 
teacher  is  enormous;  and  if,  as  a  body,  teachers  were  as  scrupu- 
lous in  respect  to  this  habit  as  they  might  be,  the  effect  on  the  moral 
tone  of  the  children  would  be  very  palpable.     Let  me  entreat  all 
who  have  charge  of  infant  schools  to  set  a  pattern  to  the  children, 
to  be  intolerant  of  slovenliness  and  dust,  to  take  a  pride,  first,  in 
having  their  own  dress  tidy,  and,  secondly,  in  having  their  school- 
room and  furniture  as  clean  as  circumstances  will  admit.     Nothing 
disposes   one  to  think  favorably  of  a   teacher   sooner   than   the 
presence  of  these  features  in  a  school. 

75.  The  words  quoted  may  be  recognized  as  those  of  John  Fos- 
ter, to   whose    well-known   essay   on   Decision   of  Character  the 
reader  is  referred  for  a  satisfactory  '  anatomy  '  of  the  will  in  its 
practical  bearing.     If  the  teacher  do  not  find  much  in  the  way  of 
practical  professional  hints,  he  will  at   least  find  much  very  in- 
structive and  interesting 'reading. 

77.  In  Combe's  Management  of  Infancy,  chap,  xiv.,  there  is  a 
lengthened  exposition  of  the  faults  most  commonly  committed  in 
the  training  of  the  will  in  childhood. 

81.  "  He  that  has  found  a  way  how  to  keep  up  a  child's  spirit, 
easy,  active,  and  free,  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  to  restrain  him 
from  many  things  he  has  a  mind  to,  and  to  draw  him  to  things 
that  are  uneasy  to  him  ;  he,  I  say,  that  knows  how  to  reconcile 
these  seeming  contradictions,  has,  in  my  opinion,  got  the  true 
secret  of  education." — Locke.  The  true  method  of  training  the 
will  is  clearly  indicated  in  sections  34,  46,  and  63  of  the 
"  Thoughts"  etc. 

(f)  "  Whenever  we  can  explain  the  reasons  for  any  of  our  re- 
quests, we  should  attempt  it;  but  whenever  these  cannot  be  fully 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  267 

explained,  it  is  better  not  to  give  a  partial  explanation;  it  will  be 
best  to  say  steadily,  '  You  cannot  understand  this  now,  you  will 
perhaps  understand  it  some  time  hence.'  Whenever  we  tell  chil- 
dren that  we  forbid  them  to  do  such  and  such  things  for  any  par- 
ticular reason,  we  must  take  care  that  the  reason  assigned  is  ade- 
quate, and  that  it  will  in  all  cases  hold  good.  For  instance,  if  we 
forbid  a  boy  to  eat  unripe  fruit  because  it  will  make  him  ill,  and  if 
afterwards  the  boy  should  eat  some  unripe  gooseberries  without 
feeling  ill  in  consequence  of  his  disobedience,  he  will  doubt  the 
truth  of  the  person  who  prohibited  unripe  fruit ;  he  will  rather 
trust  his  own  partial  experience  than  any  assertions.  The  idea 
of  hurting  his  health  is  a  general  idea,  which  he  does  not  yet  com- 
prehend. It  is  more  prudent  to  keep  him  out  of  the  way  of  un- 
ripe gooseberries  than  to  hazard  at  once  his  disobedience  and  his 
integrity." — Edgeworth  on  Practical  Education,  chap,  vii.,  on 
Obedience. 

83.  See  Abercrombie  on  the  Moral  Feelings,  part  ii.  chap.  iii. 

84.  In  addition  to  the  references  already  given  in  this  chapter, 
the  student  should  not  neglect  to  refer  to  Madame  Necker's  ex- 
cellent remarks  on  the  subject  of  the  will.     See  Progressive  Edu- 
cation, preliminary  chapter,  sections  3  and  4,  book  ii.  chap.  ii.  and 
vol.  ii. 


PART  II. 

87.  See  Girard,  chap.  i. 

88.  The  limits  to  the  use  of  books  in  infancy  are  nowhere  bet- 
ter denned  than  in  the  work  on  Home  Education,  above  referred 
to,  chap,   iv.,   which   should   be   carefully   read   by  the   student. 

•"  Not  a  syllable  of  book-learning,"  says  the  author,  "need  have 
been  acquired,  and  scarcely  a  task  learned,  and  yet  the  mind  of  a 
child  in  its  fifth  year  may  be  not  merely  in  a  state  of  the  happiest 
moral  activity,  but  may  be  intellectually  alive,  and  actually  pos- 
sessed too  of  various  information  concerning  the  visible  universe; 
and  he  may  have  made  acquaintance  with  whatever  presents  itself 
under  a  pleasurable  aspect  (and  assuredly  nothing  but  what  is 


268  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

agreeable  should  be  presented  to  the  infant  mind)."  Speaking  of 
the  labor  of  the  child  in  reading  with  intelligence,  he  says:  "  There 
is  a  particular  jar  [between  the  motion  of  the  eye  and  that  of  the 
mind],  a  want  of  synchronous  movement,  and  a  sense  of  distress 
and  a  strain  which  quickly  exhaust  the  power  of  attention;  or,  if 
persisted  in,  impair  the  brain.  ...  It  is  certain  that  the  ruddy 
vigor  of  high  health  will  almost  always  be  found  in  inverse  pro- 
portion to  the  hours  in  the  day  during  which  a  child  has  a  book 
before  his  eyes." 

90.  On  the  general  character  of  early  instruction,  Marcel  has 
an  excellent  chapter  in  his  work  on  Language.  See  book  iv. 
chap.  i. 

94.  The  management  of  light  and  ventilation  is  referred  to  in 
some  of  the  inspectors'  reports,  in  the  Minutes  of  Council,  e.g., 
Rev.  M.  Mitchell's  1853-54,  and  1855-56,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Bellair's, 
1355-56. 

98.  "And  pupil  teachers,  if  any,  be  present."     It  may  be  ob- 
served that  those  exercises  are  better  done  when  all  the  assistants 
in  the  room  take  part  in  them.     The  children  seem  to  expect  that 
all  present  should  join  with  them.     This  is  the  effect  of  sympathy. 
For  the  various  physical  exercises  that  may  be  given,  either  in 
school  or  in  playground,  see  Exercises  for  the  Improvement  of  the 
Senses  (L.  U.  K.),  part  iii. 

99.  Hence  the  name  of   'uncovered  school-room,'  which   Mr. 
Stow  has  applied  to  the  playground. 

114.  Mayo's  "  Object- Lessons"  may  profitably  be  consulted  by 
the  teacher  for  materials;  also  "  Information  on  Common  Objects," 
published  by  the  Home  and  Colonial  School  Society;  Mann's 
"Handbook  of  General  Knowledge;"  "The  Observing  Eye;' 
"  Book  of  Birds,  Fishes,  Trees,"  etc.,  published  by  Society  for 
Promoting  Christian  Knowledge;  "Exercises  for  the  Improve- 
ment of  the  Senses."  See  also  the  list  of  books  given  in  the  note 
on  §  175,  some  of  which  are  available  for  giving  materials  for  ob- 
ject-lessons. The  chief  practical  works  on  infant-school  training 
may  be  mentioned  here  once  for  all  ;  they  are  Wilderspin's  "  In- 
fant System,"  Young's  "  Infant-School  Teacher's  Manual"  (Dub- 
lin) ;  "Chambers'  Infant  Education;"  Stow's  "  Training  Sys- 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  269 

tern,"  chap,  xiv.,  and  the  Home  and  Colonial  School  Society's 
"Infant-School  Manual,"  "Model  Lessons,"  "Religious  instruc- 
tion," and  other  publications.  These  last  have  the  advantage  of 
exhibiting  minutely  the  gradation  of  infant-school  work. 

133.  There  are  a  few  little  works  which  may  be  profitably  con- 
sulted by  the  teacher  on  this  subject  ;  of  these  may  be  mentioned 
"Arithmetic  for  Young  Children,"  published  originally  by  the  So- 
ciety for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge  ;  "  First  Ideas  of 
Number  for  Children,"  published  by  Parker,  London  ;  and  Tate's 
"Arithmetic." 

139.  For  information  on  the  subject  of  color,  see  Redgrave's 
little  "  Manual  of  Color,"  and  corresponding  chart ;  also  "  Hay 
on  Harmonious  Coloring."  The  reader  may  meanwhile  refer  to 
Appendix  A,  which  has  been  obligingly  furnished  for  this  work 
by  the  author  of  the  last-named  work. 

150.  Hints  on  the  nature  and  order  of  the  lesson  or  form  may 
be  found  in  works  like  the  following:  "  Richson's  Copies"  (Na- 
tional Society);  "  Drawing  for  Young  Children"  (Society  for  Dif- 
fusion of  Useful  Knowledge);  "  Kriisi's  Manual,"  or  the  summary 
of  it  in  the  Home  and  Colonial  Society's  "  Infant-School  Manual." 
But  any  of  the  better  kind  of  elementary  manuals  of  drawing, 
such  as  Tate's  or  Carpenter's,  will  suggest  many  things  to  the 
teacher. 

171.  For  giving  descriptive  lessons  on  geography,  the  best  helps 
are  familiar  accounts  of  places  or  of  travels.  See  also  "First 
Ideas  of  Geography"  (Parker);  and  "Near  Home"  and  "Far 
Off"  (Hatchard). 

175.  On  this  whole  subject,  see  North  British  Review,  August 
1854;  "  Necker,"  vol.  ii.  book  iv.  chap. ;  viii.  and  Home  Education, 
chap.  x.  A  few  books  suitable  for  reading  from  to  children  may 
be  mentioned: — 

Evenings  at  Home;  Edgeworth's  Early  Lessons;  Winter  Even- 
ings, or  Tales  of  Travellers,  by  Maria  Hack;  Mrs.  Lees'  Anecdotes 
of  Animals,  and  Familiar  Natural  History;  My  Own  Treasury, 
by  Mark  Merriwell  ;  Peter  Parley's  Tales;  Bingley's  Tales  about 
Animals;  Lessons  from  the  Animal  World  (Society  for  Promot- 
ing Christian  Knowledge) ;  Life  of  a  Bird  (S.  P.  C.  K.);  The 


270  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

Nursery  Tales;  Gammer  Grethel's  German  Fairy  Tales; 
Granny's  Wonderful  Chair,  by  Francis  Browne;  ^Esop's  Fables; 
Woodland  Rambles,  or  Conversations  on  Trees;  The  Mine,  by 
Rev.  I.  Taylor;  Arabian  Nights.  This  list  may  be  largely  in- 
creased by  any  teacher  who  will  spend  an  hour  in  a  bookseller's 
shop. 

177.  The  reader  will  find  the  argument  for  carrying  the  child's 
understanding  along  with  what  he  reads,  and  the  manner  of  doing 
so,  fully  stated  in  Pillans'  "  First  Letter  on  the  Principles  of  Ele- 
mentary Teaching,"  see  Contributions  to  Cause  of  Education,  pp. 
8,  etc. 

182.  What  Locke  says  of  reading  is  interesting.  He  recom- 
mends that  children  be  amused  into  a  knowledge  of  letters  and 
words;  suggesting  the  use  of  an  ivory  ball  with  twenty-six  sides, 
and  a  letter  on  each,  for  the  child  to  play  with  ;  or  four  dice,  one 
for  vowels,  the  rest  for  consonants  to  throw  words  with.  "  I  know 
a  person,"  says  he,  "who,  by  pasting  on  the  six  vowels  on  the 
six  sides  of  a  die,  and  the  eighteen  consonants  on  the  sides  of 
other  three  dice,  has  made  this  a  play  for  his  children,  that  he 
shall  win  who,  at  one  cast,  throws  most  words  on  these  four  dice; 
whereby  his  eldest  son  [yet  a  child],  has  played  himself  into 
spelling,  with  great  eagerness,  and  without  once  having  been  chid 
for  it,  or  forced  to  it." — Locke,  sects  148-155.  Compare  these 
lines  in  Cowper's  Conversation  : — 

"  As  alphabets  in  ivory  employ, 
Hour  after  hour,  the  yet  unlettered  boy, 
Sorting  and  puzzling1,  with  a  deal  of  glee, 
Those  seeds  of  science  called  his  A,  B,  C, 
So  language,"  etc. 

The  idea  of  cheating  the  child  into  knowledge,  however,  is  not 
quite  sound,  as  going  to  confound  work  with  play.  In  the  infant 
school  we  must  accustom  the  child  to  the  idea  of  work,  but  this 
work  may  quite  well  be  made  agreeable. 

194.  These  quotations  are  from  the  work  of  Girard,  already  re- 
fered  to  for  the  manner  in  which  it  exhibits  the  whole  course  and 
spirit  of  religious  instruction. 

197.  The  teacher  is  often  obliged,  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSl^RATIONS.  271 

parents,  to  use  a  catechism.  There  are  one  or  two  simple  cate- 
chisms constructed  for  children.  In  teaching  the  catechism,  there 
are  but  two  alternatives,  either  to  hear  the  children  simply  repeat 
it,  or  to  connect  the  illustrative  method  of  instruction  with  it. 
The  mere  explaining  of  its  words  and  sequence  conveys  no  ideas 
to  the  child. 

202.  The  teacher  may  derive  assistance  in  giving  lessons  on 
emblems  from  Stow's  little  work  on  "Bible  Emblems." 

204.  For  helps  in  giving  religious  instruction  to  infant  classes 
the  teacher  may  with  advantage  consult  the  little  works,  "  Peep  of 
Day,"  "Line  upon  Line,"  Draper's  "Stories  from  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,"  "  Religious  Instruction  for  Children,"  by  Miss 
Mayo;  and  works  like  Kitto's  "Daily  Readings,"  which  supply 
materials  for  descriptive  lessons. 

205.  Since  writing  this  lesson,  I   find  that  the  incident  related 
in  this  story  happened  in  one  of  Mr.  Wilderspin's  schools.     The 
reader  may  see  it  given  at  length  in  his  Infant  School  System, 
chap.  x. ;  where  he  should  turn  to  see  the  precise  use  to  which  the 
incident  was  put  when  it  occurred. 

217.  The  duty  of  the  teacher  to  "get  everything  from  the  chil- 
dren"— as  if  he  were  to  tell  them  nothing  at  all — has  been  very 
much  overstated  by  many  writers.  Girard's  remarks  on  this  point 
are  just ;  see  p.  90  of  this  treatise. 

226.  Miss  Edgeworth  shows  the  impropriety  of  excess  on  this 
point.  Practical  Education,  vol.  i.  p.  129. 

245.  "  If  a  mother  can  make  it  an  honor  and  a  privilege  to  her 
child  to  lift  her  handkerchief,  and  a  punishment  not  to  be  per- 
mitted to  do  so  ;  or  if  it  be  possible  and  practical  that  for  disobedi- 
ence and  any  other  fault  a  child's  exclusion  from  table  for  half  an 
hour  is  felt  to  be  a  punishment  so  severe  as  almost  to  tear  his 
heart  strings  asunder  ;  then  it  is  clear  that  by  the  same  process, 
and  by  the  additional  power  of  the  sympathy  of  numbers  which 
the  mother  cannot  have,  may  the  master  of  a  training-school 
punish  a  child  most  severely  without  corporal  infliction.  To  order 
a  boy  out  from  the  gallery  after  being  properly  warned  once  or 
twice,  is  found  to  be  really  more  severe  than  half  a  dozen  '  pal- 


272  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

mies.'"  Stow,  Training  System,  chap.  viii.  This  passage  is 
quoted  here  simply  as  applying  to  the  infant  school. 

247.  See  the  chapter  on  "  Rewards  and  Punishments,"  in  Edge- 
worth,  vol.  i. 

249.  Wilderspin's  Infant  System,  chap,  x.,  on  "Rewards  and 
Punishments." 

251.  In  connection  with  the  considerations  on  discipline  ad- 
vanced in  this  chapter,  and  §§  19,  63,  80,  259,  and  260,  the  reader 
should  refer  to  the  chapter  on  "Moral  Discipline,"  in  Abbot's 
Teacher. 

256.  The  only  satisfactory  way  of  giving  students  and  teachers 
an  acquaintance  with  such  details  is  to  make  them  prepare  a  plan 
of  the  school,  making  all  the  measurements  themselves. 

258.  The  principles   and  practice   of  ventilation,  lighting,  and 
heating  do  not  concern  infant  schools  specially.     The  reader  who 
is  disposed  to  see  the  various  plans  that  have  been  recommended 
may,  in  addition  to  reading  the  "  Memorandum  on  Organization," 
issued  by  the  Committee  of  Privy  Council  on  Education,  refer  to 
the  American  work  of  Barnard,  entitled  School  Architecture,  or  to 
a  work  founded  on  these  two  sources,  Burn  On  the  Arrangement, 
etc. ,  of  Schoolhouses. 

259.  But  the  teacher's   references  to  what  passes  in  the  play- 
ground must  not  be  too  personal,  otherwise  the  children  will  be- 
gin  to  suspect  his  motives   and  distrust  his  disposition  towards 
them.     He  must,  "  by  indirections  find  directions  out."     He  must 
touch  on  the  incidents  of  the  play-ground  in  such  a  way  that  the 
children,  while  feeling  the  power  of   what  is    said,  shall   hardly 
know  that  he  is  referring  to  them. 

261.  Barnard,  in  the  work  just  referred  to,  gives  a  minute  de- 
scription and  drawings  of  the  various  parts  of  infant-school  play- 
ground furniture,— circular  swing,  climbing-stand,  horizontal  bar, 
parallel   bars,   pivot-swing,   and   double-inclined   plane.     All  the 
games  which  young  children  may  play  at  are  mentioned  (but  not 
described)  in  a  little  work,  Exercises  for  the  Senses,  in  the  Library 
of  Useful  Knowledge. 

262.  The  subject  of  closets  has  not  been  referred  to  in  the  text, 
but  it  will  be  understood  that  they  must  be  provided  in  sufficient 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  273 

number  and  in  due  retirement ;  further,  that  the  most  scrupulous 
attention  be  paid  to  insure  their  cleanliness.  This  is  often  a  weak 
point  in  school-arrangements. 

263.  These  classes  may  either  be  separated  by  small  curtains  or 
not.  These  articles  of  furniture,  however,  are  not  now  so  much 
esteemed  as  they  were  once.  If  they  have  their  advantages,  they 
have  also  their  disadvantages. 

285.  The   qualifications   of   the  infant-school  teacher  are   well 
specified  in  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mitchell's  Reports  in  the  volumes  of  the 
Minutes  of  Council,  1854-55,  and  1855-56.     These  Reports  may 
be  referred  to  also  for  what  is  said  on  the  whole  method  and  the 
apparatus  of  the  infant  school. 

286.  Pupil-teachers  in  infant  schools  have  the  same  studies  pre- 
scribed as  other  pupil-teachers  ;  but  a  somewhat  different  course 
of  study  is  enjoined  on  them  if,  when  they  join  the  training-schools, 
they  profess  themselves  candidates  for  the  office  of  infant  school 
teacher.     For  those  who  may  contemplate  this   profession,  the 
substance  of  the  Minute  of  April  24,  1857,  on    Infant  Schools,  is 
subjoined  : — 

"Queen's  scholarships  are  offered  to  all  who  have  satisfactorily 
finished  their  apprenticeship  in  an  infant  school ;  and  to  other 
candidates,  eighteen  years  of  age,  whose  manners  and  address  are 
prim  a  facie  suitable  for  dealing  with  very  young  children,  and  who 
can  (i)  Read  with  fluency,  correctness,  and  intelligence  ;  (2) 
Write  simple  sentences  from  dictation  correctly  ;  and  (3)  Work 
easy  sums  in  the  first  four  rules,  simple  and  compound." 

Subjects  of  Examination  at  the  end  of  the  Year. 

1.  Historical  part  of   Holy    Scripture,   with  Doctrines  of    the 

Church  to  which  Candidate  belongs  ;  for  higher  proficiency, 
an  Epistle. 

2.  Theory  and  Practice  of  teaching  Infants,  and  of  conducting 

an  Infant  School. 

3.  Lessons   on  Objects,   Trades,   Manufactures,  and  Domestic 

Economy. 

4.  Language — Parts  of  Speech  with  Inflections  ;  for  higher  pro- 

ficiency, Parsing,  Analysis,  and  Paraphrasing. 
18 


274  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

5.  Penmanship — Large  and  Small  hand. 

6.  Arithmetic — first  from   Rules,  Simple  and  Compound,  with 

Explanation  of  Processes  ;  for  higher  proficiency,  Practice, 
Proportion,  and  Vulgar  Fractions. 

7.  Geography — only   required   for  higher   proficiency — Europe 

and  General  Outlines,    Map-drawing  of  British  Isles  and 
Palestine. 

8.  Natural  History — 

The  Human  Body; 
Common  Animals; 
Common  Plants  and  Minerals; 
Conditions  affecting  Health. 

9.  Sewing  and  Cutting. 

10.  Singing  and  Drawing,  so  far  as  to  enable  the  teacher  to 
conduct  the  Singing  Exercises  of  the  School,  and  illustrate 
his  lessons  by  Sketching. 

n.  An  Examination  in  Teaching,  with  a  view  to  note  the  degree 
of  power  possessed  by  the  Candidate  of  presenting  the 
first  elements  of  knowledge  to  the  infant  mind,  and  the 
correctness  of  the  language  used. 


APPENDIX    A.* 

ON    COLOR. 

THERE  are  three  distinct  kinds  of  color  in  nature,  viz.,  yellow, 
red,  and  blue.  The  first  is  most  allied  to  light,  and  is  a  color 
having  no  characteristic  tone;  the  second  is  characterized  by 
warmth  of  tone;  and  the  third  by  coolness  of  tone.  Yellow,  red, 
and  blue  are  called  the  primary  colors,  because  out  of  their  various 
modes  of  combination  all  other  colors,  either  in  nature  or  in  art, 
are  produced.  The  three  colors  which  arise  from  the  binary 
union  of  these  primary  colors  are  orange,  purple,  and  green, 
orange  being  composed  of  yellow  and  red;  purple,  of  red  and 

*  Contributed  by  Mr.  D.  R.  Hay,  Edinburgh. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


275 


blue;  and  green,  of  blue  and  yellow.  They  are  therefore  called 
secondary  colors.  All  other  colors  in  nature  and  art  arise  from 
the  union  of  the  whole  three  primary  colors,  under  an  infinite 
variety  of  modifications,  in  respect  to  the  relative  proportions  in 
which  they  are  combined. 

White  and  black  represent  light  and  darkness,  and  are  not  there- 
fore considered  as  colors.  When  yellow,  red,  and  blue,  of  cor- 
responding intensities,  are  united  together  in  equal  quantities,  a 
neutral  gray,  similar  to  tiie  union  of  white  and  black,  is  the  result; 
because  it  is  the  nature  of  these  colors,  when  in  triple  union,  to 
neutralize  each  other. 

These  simple  facts  would  clearly  exhibit  themselves  in  a  diagram 
constructed  like  the  accompanying  one  (but  without  the  dotting 
and  straight  lining  by  which  color  is  there  represented),  by  coloring 
the  space  within  the  two  curved  lines  D  A  F  and  D  O  F  with  pure 
yellow,  the  space  within  the  similar  lines  D  B  E  and  D  P  E  with 
pure  red,  and  the  space  within  the  similar  lines  E  C  F  and  E  N  E 
with  pure  blue. 

DIAGRAM  OF  COLORS. 

B 


276 


EARLY  EDUCATION. 


The  primary  colors  may  be  represented  as  follows: — 

YELLOW  BY  RED  BY  BLUE  BY 


The  colors  thus  put  together  must  be  of  equal  intensity,  and 
quite  transparent.  Gamboge  yellow,  crimson  lake,  and  Prussian 
blue  are  quite  suitable  for  ordinary  purposes  of  this  kind.  Each 
color  should  be  thoroughly  dry  before  the  other  is  put  on,  and 
then  applied  quickly  in  order  to  prevent  the  washing  up  of  those 
first  laid  on.  By  this  means  the  space  D  A  F  L  remains  yellow, 
D  B  E  G  red,  and  E  C  F  M  blue,  while  the  space  D  G  L  is 
orange  color,  E  G  M  purple,  F  L  M  green,  and  the  centre  space 
G  L  M  gray,  all  arranged  in  harmonious  order,  both  as  to  that  of 
succession  and  union. 

The  primary  and  secondary  colors  follow  each  other  in  the 
order  of  a  primary  and  secondary  alternately,  as  in  the  rainbow. 
The  yellow,  being  neutral  as  to  tone,  unites  with  the  warm-toned 
red  on  the  one  side  in  the  production  of  orange,  and  on  the 
other  side  with  the  cool-toned  blue  in  the  production  of  green, 
while  the  red  and  blue  neutralize  their  respective  warmth  and  cool- 
ness in  the  production  of  the  secondary  purple.  The  manner  in 
which  the  most  powerful  harmonies  of  color  occur  within  this 
circle  is  as  follows:  on  the  line  A  E  we  find  opposed  to  the  neu- 
tral-toned primary  color  yellow  the  secondary  color  purple,  in 
which  the  warm-toned  primary  color  red  and  the  cool-toned  prim- 
ary color  blue  have  mutually  neutralized  each  other,  and  thereby 
constituting  purple,  the  true  harmonic  accompaniment  to  yellow. 
On  the  line  B  F  we  find  opposed  to  the  warm-toned  primary  color 
red  the  secondary  color  green,  in  which  the  cool-toned  primary 
color  blue  is  united  with  the  neutral-toned  primary  color  yellow, 
thus  constituting  green,  the  true  harmonic  accompaniment  to  red. 
On  the  line  D  C  we  find  opposed  to  the  cool-toned  primary  color 
blue  the  secondary  color  orange,  in  which  the  warm-toned  pri- 
mary color  red  is  united  with  the  neutral-toned  primary  color 
yellow,  thus  constituting  orange  color,  the  true  harmonic  accom- 
paniment to  blue. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  277 

The  contrast  between  each  of  these  three  pairs  of  harmonizing 
colors  is  relieved  by  the  neutral  gray  which  occurs  in  the  space 
GLM. 

These  varieties  of  tone  in  the  three  primary  colors  thus  produce 
that  harmony  to  which  the  eye  responds  with  so  much  delight 
when  dwelling  upon  the  beauties  of  nature  ;  and  a  proper  knowl- 
edge of  this  species  of  harmony  would  enable  us  to  render  truly 
beautiful  many  of  the  most  simple  products  of  our  labor. 


APPENDIX   B. 

ON  THE   MORE   SIMPLE   DISORDERS   AND   INJURIES  TO   WHICH 
CHILDREN   ARE   LIABLE.* 

THE  object  of  the  following  observations  is  merely  to  afford 
some  guidance  in  the  treatment  more  immediately  required  in 
several  of  the  commoner  complaints  to  which  children  are  liable. 
Any  attempt  at  describing  individually  the  different  diseases  inci- 
dent to  childhood  would  here  be  out  of  place  ;  all  that  is  necessary 
being  such  an  amount  of  information  as  may  enable  the  teacher, 
or  others  in  charge,  to  afford  remedial  assistance  in  those  cases 
which  are  either  of  so  simple  a  nature  as  not  to  demand  the  attend- 
ance of  a  medical  man,  or  which  occur  where  the  services  of  one 
cannot  be  easily  or  directly  procured. 

In  order  to  be  ready  for  emergencies,  some  knowledge  of  the 
weights  and  measures  used  in  medicine  is  advantageous  ;  and  a 
few  of  the  more  useful  remedies,  etc.,  being  kept  at  hand — espe- 
cially where  no  druggists  are  to  be  found  within  a  convenient  dis- 
tance—will be  of  service.  These  remedies  may  consist  of  castor- 
oil,  syrup  of  senna,  magnesia,  gray  powder  (mercury  and  chalk), 
Dover's  powder,  antimonial  wine,  ipecacuanha  wine,  and  ipecacu- 


*  As  competent  medical  sanction  is  quite  indispensable  on  a  subject  of  this 
nature,  it  may  be  proper  to  state  here,  that  Dr.  John  Smith,  Lecturer  in  the 
Medical  School  in  this  city,  [Edinburgh,]  has  kindly  written  Appendix  B  ex- 
pressly for  this  work. 


278  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

anha  in  powder;  chalk  mixture,  lime-water,  creosote,  some  pieces 
of  lint  and  of  oil-skin,  or  gutta-percha  skin,  one  or  two  bandages, 
etc. 

The  signs  of  illness  which  ought  to  attract  our  attention  in  chil- 
dren are  shivering,  loss  of  appetite,  unaccountable  thirst,  unnat- 
ural flushing  of  the  face,  listlessness,  inclination  to  sleep  or  lie 
down,  depression  of  spirits,  unusual  heat  of  skin,  cough  or  sneez- 
ing, watery  eyes,  general  pains  in  the  body  or  limbs,  eruptions  on 
the  skin,  vomiting  or  purging,  tumidity  of  the  belly,  emaciation, 
etc.  Most  of  these  symptoms  may  occur  in  a  transitory  and  unim- 
portant manner,  but,  at  the  same  time,  they  comprehend  those 
ushering  in  the  most  serious  maladies,  and  on  that  account  should 
always  be  attended  to  from  their  first  appearance,  and  watched, 
lest  they  become  gradually  more  severe. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  here  to  mention  those  diseases  to  which 
children  are  especially  liable,  as  they  are  everywhere  pretty  gen- 
erally known.  Croup,  hooping-cough,  measles,  scarlet  fever, 
small-pox  in  unvaccinated  children,  some  inflammations  of  the 
eyes,  and  several  eruptions  or  diseases  of  the  skin,  are  among 
those  which  we  may  always  expect  to  be  occurring. 

Most  of  these  are  contagious  or  infectious  diseases  ;  that  is, 
they  are  capable  of  being  communicated  from  the  sick  to  the 
healthy,  and  of  spreading  in  this  way.  Cleanliness  and  ventila- 
tion are  here  of  primary  importance  in  preventing  the  accumula- 
tion of  contagious  emanations  from  the  bodies  of  the  diseased  ; 
while  proper  attention  to  diet,  to  maintaining  the  proper  tempera- 
ture of  the  body,  and  avoiding  all  causes  which  weaken  or  ex- 
haust, are  the  most  effectual  methods  of  enabling  the  healthy  to 
resist  such  contagious  emanations,  when  unavoidably  exposed  to 
them.  In  diseases  of  the  eyes  and  of  the  skin,  towels,  sponges, 
etc.,  ought  never  to  be  indiscriminately  used  ;  but  those  of  the 
patient  should  be  kept  rigorously  apart  from  all  others,  as  con- 
tagion in  these  cases  is  very  apt  to  be  thus  communicated.  Indeed 
in  many  skin  diseases,  such  as  itch,  several  forms  of  what  is 
called  ringworm,  and  some  other  diseases  of  the  scalp,  contagion 
is  so  liable  to 'occur,  that  it  is  best  to  separate  the  patient  entirely 
from  the  healthy  children.  With  reference  also  to  the  eruptive 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  279 

fevers,  etc.,  common  to  early  life,  such  as  measles,  small-pox, 
scarlet  fever,  etc.,  even  after  the  disease  is  cured,  in  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  phrase,  the  patient  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to 
return  to  school,  or  mix  with  the  other  scholars  in  any  way,  until 
recovery  is  so  far  advanced  that  the  skin  shall  have  been  com- 
pletely restored  to  its  healthy  condition,  so  that  its  surface  shall 
not  be  scaling  off,  nor  affected  with  any  scabs,  pustules,  nor  any- 
thing of  the  kind.  The  mere  red  marks  remaining  after  small-pox 
are  of  course  to  be  excepted,  as  these  continue  long  after  a  per- 
fect cure  has  been  established,  and  when  no  danger  of  contagion 
any  longer  exists. 

Whenever  any  severe  or  unusual  symptoms  of  illness  arise,  time 
should  not  be  wasted  in  attempts  at  guessing  at  the  disease,  or 
conjecturing  what  should  be  done,  and  endeavoring  to  treat  it 
without  the  assistance  of  a  medical  man;  in  all  such  cases  a  physi- 
cian ought  at  once  to  be  sent  for.  Even  in  those  cases  where  dis- 
orders apparently  of  a  very  trivial  nature  do  not  obviously  improve 
under  simple  treatment,  it  is  better  not  to  persevere  too  long  with- 
out proper  medical  attendance. 

But  although  these,  and  the  so-called  "specific"  diseases,  of 
which  some  have  been  already  mentioned,  are  generally  of  too 
serious  a  nature  to  be  treated  by  non-professional  persons,  yet 
many  simpler  disorders  of  the  stomach  and  bowels,  of  the  chest, 
such  as  common  colds,  etc.,  and  many  slighter  forms  of  injury  to 
which  children  are  subject,  may,  with  a  little  attention,  be  easily 
and  effectually  treated  in  this  way;  and  with  that  view  the  follow- 
ing directions  are  subjoined. 

DISEASES,  INJURIES,  ACCIDENTS,  ETC.,  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT. 

Looseness  or  Purging. — If  the  motions  are  frequent,  scanty,  and 
attended  with  much  pain  or  straining,  from  one  to  three  teaspoon- 
fuls  of  castor-oil,  with  one,  two,  or  three  drops  of  laudanum  in  it, 
may  be  given.  If  the  motions  are  abundant,  a  teaspoonful  of 
chalk  mixture  may  be  administered  three  or  four  times  a  day;  and 
should  the  disease  continue  for  some  days,  one  grain  of  Dover's 
powder,  and  one  of  the  gray  powder  of  mercury  and  chalk,  should 


280  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

be  taken  three  times  a  day.  The  diet  should  be  restricted  to  rice, 
arrow-root,  and  such  substances;  and  the  drink  should  consist  of 
small  quantities  of  milk  and  lime-water  in  equal  proportions,  thin 
arrow-root,  etc. 

Constipation. — When  the  bowels  are  not  regularly  opened  every 
day,  the  use  of  brown  bread,  oatmeal,  etc.,  is  sometimes  all  that  is 
required.  In  more  obstinate  cases,  however,  aperient  medicines 
may  be  necessary;  but  unless  we  wish  to  induce  purging,  there  is 
no  necessity  for  administering  powerful  doses  for  this  affection. 
Caster-oil,  in  the  dose  of  one  to  four  teaspoonfuls;  or  syrup  of 
senna,  in  a  dose  of  one  or  two  teaspoonfuls;  or  magnesia,  in  a 
dose  of  ten  or  fifteen  or  twenty  grains,  will  be  found  to  answer  in 
most  instances.  Salts  and  other  drastic  purgatives  are  generally 
productive  of  bad  effects  in  simple  constipation. 

Colds  and  Coughs. — A  simple  cold,  if  treated  at  its  commence- 
ment by  keeping  the  patient  somewhat  warmer  than  usual,  and 
bathing  the  feet  and  legs  in  warm  water  at  night,  and  taking  some 
warm  drink — such  as  thin  gruel  upon  going  to  bed — may  generally 
be  cut  short.  If  not,  however,  then  all  we  can  do  is  to  guard 
against  exposure  during  its  progress,  and  to  treat  the  various 
symptoms  of  it,  such  as  cough,  etc.,  as  they  occur. 

A  cough  is  either  what  is  termed  dry — that  is,  without  expectora- 
tions— or  loose,  that  is,  with  the  flow  of  mucus  in  the  lung  much 
increased.  In  a  dry  cough,  from  eight  to  ten  drops  of  ipecacuanha 
wine  may  be  given  in  a  little  sugar  and  water  every  four  hours; 
and  if  much  heat  of  skin,  or  pain  in  the  chest,  is  present,  half  a 
teaspoonful  of  antimonial  wine  may  be  combined  with  this  dose. 
In  a  loose  cough,  if  severe,  half  a  teaspoonful  of  the  syrup  of 
squills,  in  two  teaspoonfuls  of  camphor  mixture,  may  be  substituted 
for  the  other  remedies;  and  where  a  considerable  quantity  of  mu- 
cus seems  to  be  lodging  in  the  air-passages,  an  emetic  of  twenty 
grains  of  ipecacuanha  in  powder  may  be  given  in  a  cupful  of  warm 
water. 

Ear-ache. — Poultices  and  warm  fomentations  to  the  ear,  with 
the  use  of  brisk  purgatives,  and  the  restriction  of  the  diet,  are  the 
general  measures  to  be  adopted  in  the  treatment  of  this  affection. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  281 

Inflammation  of  the  Eyes. — What  is  commonly  known  by  this 
name  comprehends  a  number  of  diseases  of  far  too  serious  a  nature 
to  be  treated  without  the  attendance  of  a  medical  man.  In  simple 
cases,  the  eyes  may  be  bathed  with  a  tepid  solution  of  two  or  three 
grains  of  sulphate  of  zinc  in  a  wineglass  full  of  water.  And  where 
the  eyelids  are  inclined  to  adhere  together,  a  little  hog's  lard  may 
be  smeared  over  their  edges  at  night.  The  bowels  ought  to  be 
kept  gently  open  during  this  disease,  but  purging  is  unnecessary. 
This  affection  in  children  is  very  apt  to  be  communicated  by  con- 
tagion, and  great  caution  is  therefore  necessary  to  prevent  any 
matter  formed  from  reaching  the  eyes  of  other  persons. 

Blows  or  Bruises. — In  these  cases  there  is  generally  observed 
some  degree  of  swelling  and  redness  at  the  seat  of  the  injury;  the 
red  color  soon  gives  place  to  a  violet  or  livid  hue,  and  that  again 
in  course  of  cure  to  green  and  yellow  tints,  the  original  color  of 
the  skin  being  next  restored.  From  the  time  of  receiving  the  in- 
jury until  the  disappearance  of  discoloration  is  generally  from  ten 
to  fourteen  days.  In  slight  bruises,  bathe  the  part,  if  no  abrasions 
are  present,  with  vinegar  and  water.  Never  apply  leeches  unless 
great  inflammation  and  swelling  are  present;  but  in  all  cases  where 
the  injury  is  so  severe  as  to  require  such  treatment,  it  ought  to  be 
submitted  to  a  medical  man.  A  coagulum  formed  of  alum  and  the 
white  of  an  egg  is  said  to  hasten  the  removal  of  discoloration  in 
the  skin. 

Abrasions  of  the  Skin. — All  extraneous  matter,  such  as  sand  or 
gravel,  sticking  about  a  part  from  which  the  skin  has  been  abraded, 
ought  to  be  removed  by  bathing  it  with  warm  water.  A  piece  of 
lint  or  rag  soaked  in  tepid  water  is  then  to  be  laid  over  the  injured 
surface,  and  over  this  again  a  piece  of  oil-silk  or  thin  gutta-percha, 
so  as  to  prevent  the  rag  or  lint  becoming  dry  by  evaporation.  A 
light  bandage,  merely  sufficient  to  retain  these  appliances  in  posi- 
tion, is  all  else  that  is  required;  ointments,  plasters,  etc.,  only 
tending  to  irritate  and  inflame  the  injured  surface,  unless  specially 
called  for. 

Burns  and  Scalds. — Injuries  by  heat  may  be  divided  into  two 
kinds,  viz.,  those  where  the  skin  remains  whole,  although  perhaps 


282  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

blistered,  and  those  again  where  the  skin  is  destroyed.  Burns  or 
scalds  on  the  body  or  head  are  much  more  dangerous  than  those 
on  the  limbs;  and  during  childhood  their  effects  are  more  serious 
than  in  after-life.  The  principal  danger  to  be  apprehended  is  that 
of  the  patient  sinking  from  the  shock  or  severe  effects  of  the  in- 
jury; and  burns  which  produce  this  effect,  although  generally  ex- 
tensive, are  sometimes  not  so  painful  as  less  formidable  cases. 
In  removing  the  clothes  from  a  scalded  part,  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  injure  or  break  the  skin.  Where  the  skin  is  not  destroyed 
or  broken,  but  only  reddened,  or  blistered,  cold  applications  are  to 
be  employed.  If,  however,  the  injury  is  over  a  large  space,  these 
must  be  used  cautiously,  as  then  they  are  apt  to  increase  the  danger 
of  sinking  already  alluded  to.  Cold  water,  spirits  and  water, 
vinegar  and  water,  or  cold  poultices — all  frequently  renewed— are 
the  most  ready  methods  of  treatment  in  this  way.  Blisters  ought 
not  to  be  pricked  or  cut  in  any  way,  as  they  serve  to  protect  the 
raw  surface  underneath,  until  healing  commences  there. 

When  the  skin  has  been  destroyed,  the  burn  becomes  more  of 
the  nature  of  a  wound,  and  requires  treatment  not  very  different 
from  a  severe  abrasion.  Soft  cotton-wool  may  be  laid  upon  the 
part,  or  a  piece  of  lint  dipped  in  equal  parts  of  lime-water  and 
olive-oil,  or  lime-water  and  milk,  may  be  applied.  But  as  the 
sores  left  in  these  cases  are  generally  difficult  to  heal,  a  medical 
man  ought  to  see  the  patient  as  soon  as  possible. 

Sprains. — All  injuries  or  affections  of  the  joints  in  children  should 
be  particularly  attended  to.  Any  unaccountable  swelling  about  a 
joint,  although  unattended  with  pain,  a  halt  or  lameness  in  walk- 
ing, and  pain  or  uneasiness  in  any  of  the  limbs,  ought  to  excite 
suspicion  of  serious  disease,  and  be  immediately  investigated. 
The  most  important  of  all  our  remedies  here  is  rest  to  the  limb; 
and  the  principal  danger  to  be  averted  is  inflammation  of  the  joint. 
If  a  joint  has  been  injured,  and  is  much  swollen  and  painful,  leeches 
may  be  applied  to  it  in  the  first  instance:  after  this  the  employ- 
ment of  fomentations  and  absolute  rest  are  to  be  most  relied  upon; 
and  upon  the  subsidence  of  the  more  acute  symptoms,  moderate 
exercise  of  the  limb,  frictions  either  with  the  dry  hand  or  some 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS,  283 

simple  liniment,  such  as  camphorated  oil,  and  wearing  a  flannel 
bandage  round  the  joint,  are  the  chief  measures  to  be  adopted. 

Fainting  and  Convulsion  Fits. — These  two  very  different  affec- 
tions are  frequently  confounded  with  one  another,  although,  in 
general,  they  may  be  easily  distinguished.  In  fainting,  the  face 
and  lips  become  pale,  the  skin  is  generally  covered  with  a  clammy 
perspiration,  and  the  patient  falls  to  the  ground  motionless;  in  a 
few  seconds  recovery  takes  place  with  deep  and  heavy  sighs,  and 
occasionally  vomiting  then  occurs.  In  convulsions,  again,  the  attack 
comes  on  suddenly,  and  in  most  instances  with  a  loud  cry;  the 
patient  falls,  and  is  affected  with  strong  muscular  writhings  or 
spasms,  the  limbs  being  kept  in  violent  motion,  or  firmly  fixed  in 
one  position,  while  the  face  is  much  distorted,  and  froth  issues 
from  the  mouth.  These  symptoms  cease  in  from  five  to  ten  min- 
utes, leaving  the  patient  drowsy  and  motionless. 

In  both  these  affections  the  treatment  must  be  much  the  same. 
Cold  water  dashed  on  the  head  and  face, — the  removal  of  all  pres- 
sure on  the  neck, — such  as  neck-cloths,  etc.,  and,  in  convulsions, 
the  insertion  of  something  between  the  teeth,  such  as  the  corner  of 
a  towel,  folded  once  or  twice,  to  prevent  the  biting  of  the  lips  and 
tongue,  which  is  here  apt  to  occur — constitute  all  that  is  essentially 
necessary  to  be  done  during  the  fit. 

The  most  important  treatment  is  that  which  has  for  its  object 
the  removal  of  the  constitutional  condition  which  leads  to  these 
fits,  and  this,  of  course,  is  not  to  be  attempted  by  non-professional 
individuals. 

Broken  Bones. — The  indications  of  a  bone  being  fractured  are 
alteration  in  the  shape  of  the  limb,  unnatural  mobility  at  some 
part  of  its  length,  and  a  grating  or  rubbing  of  the  rough  broken 
ends  of  the  bone  against  each  other  at  this  part  when  the  fractured 
bone  is  moved  in  certain  directions. 

All  that  is  necessary  to  describe  here,  in  the  way  of  treatment, 
are  those  temporary  measures  to  be  adopted  previous  to  the 
arrival  of  the  surgeon.  The  limb  should  be  placed  in  a  position  as 
nearly  natural,  and  as  easy  for  the  patient,  as  possible,  and  main- 
tained there  at  perfect  rest  by  means  of  pillows  placed  alongside  of 


284  EARLY  EDUCATION. 

it,  or  by  pieces  of  thinrWood  or  stout  pasteboard  being  bandaged 
round  the  limb,  and  padded  with  tow  or  pieces  of  blanket  or  any 
other  soft  material,  so  as  to  be  more  comfortable.  The  patient 
ought  to  be  moved  as  little  as  possible  before  being  seen  by  a 
medical  man;  as  by  lifting  and  carrying  individuals  so  injured,  the 
ends  of  the  bone  may  tear  the  flesh  surrounding  it,  or  be  even 
driven  through  the  skin. 

Chilblains. — These  are  slight  inflammations  which  occur  on  the 
toes  and  fingers,  and  sometimes  the  nose  and  ears — generally  in 
winter,  and  where  a  part  has  been  rapidly  heated  when  it  was  very 
cold.  They  consist  of  red  and  swollen  patches,  sometimes  ac- 
companied with  blisters,  and  these,  upon  breaking,  are  apt  to  be- 
come ulcerated  and  to  occasion  much  annoyance. 

In  the  simpler  forms,  some  stimulating  liniment,  such  as  equal 
parts  of  spirit  of  wine  and  vinegar,  spirit  of  camphor,  or  soap  and 
opium  liniment,  any  of  these  being  applied  cold,  is  generally  effi- 
cacious. Care  must  be  taken  not  to  break  the  blisters  should  any 
exist:  if  they  are  broken,  then  the  ulcers  should  be  poulticed,  and 
afterwards  dressed  with  a  little  resin-ointment  spread  on  lint,  until 
they  are  healed. 

Bleeding  from  Wounds,  etc. — In  cases  of  obstinate  bleeding,  the 
best  thing  which  can  be  done  until  a  surgeon  is  found  is  to  apply 
pressure  to  that  point  from  which  the  blood  flows.  This  may  be 
done  either  simply  by  the  finger  being  firmly  applied  to  the  wound, 
or  by  a  piece  of  lint  or  rag  being  folded  up  into  a  thick  and  small 
pad,  and  that  placed  upon  the  wound,  and  tied  there  by  means  of 
a  flat  bandage  of  some  kind.  Should  the  pad  become  saturated 
with  blood,  it  may  require  to  be  renewed,  as  in  that  case  it  acts' 
like  a  sponge,  and  increases  instead  of  diminishes  the  bleeding. 

Toothache. — This  affection  may  be  temporarily  alleviated  by 
scrupulously  cleaning  out  the  cavity  of  the  tooth — as  decay  has 
generally  hollowed  it  at  some  part — and  dropping  into  this  cavity 
a  piece  of  cotton-wool  soaked  in  creosote,  or  a  strong  solution  of 
alum.  It  is  useless,  however,  doing  so,  unless  the  decayed  cavity 
is  first  well  cleaned  out,  even  although  the  pain  should  thus  be 
temporarily  increased.  After  using  the  creosote,  etc.,  the  hollow 
of  the  tooth  should  be  filled  up  with  a  pellet  of  cotton-wool  satu- 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  285 

rated  with  a  solution  of  gum-mastic  in  ether,  or  with  a  piece  of 
gutta  percha  softened  in  boiling  water.  The  condition  of  the 
stomach  and  bowels  should  in  all  cases  of  toothache  be  attended  to 
most  carefully. 

Stings  of  Bees,  Wasps,  etc. — Should  the  sting  itself  be  left  in  the 
wound,  it  ought  to  be  removed,  if  possible;  and  the  part  may  have 
applied  to  it  vinegar,  hartshorn-water,  laudanum,  or  spirits  of 
wine,  on  a  piece  of  lint  or  thick  cotton. 


OF  THB 

HiV        ry 


TWENTY-FIRST   TEAR! 

THE  SCHOOL  JOURNAL 

is  published  weekly  at  $Z.5O  a  year.  Amos  M.  Kellogg  and 
Jerome  Allen,  two  teachers  of  life-long  experience  and  pro- 
gressive ideas,  with  a  large  trained  editorial  staff,  edit  it. 
Established  20  years  ago,  it  is  to  day  the  best  known  and 
widest  circulated  educational  weekly  in  the  U.  S.  Its  sterl- 
ing reputation  has  been  won  strictly  on  its  merits,  as  its 
subscribers  know,  and  you  will  too  (if  not  now  a  subscriber) 
if  you  send  6  cents  for  sample  copy. 

THIRTEENTH    TEAR! 

THE  TEACHERS'   INSTITUTE 

is  published  monthly  at  $1.25  a  year;  1  2  large  44-page 
papers  constitute  a  year  (most  other  educational  monthlies 
puolish  but  9  or  10).  It  is  edited  by  the  same  editors  as  the 
SCHOOL  JOURNAL,  and  has,  ever  since  it  was  started  in  1878, 
been  the  most  popular  monthly  educational  published,  cir- 
culating in  every  State— a  national  paper.  This  was  because 
it  was  practical— little  theory  and  much  practice  and  sugges- 
tion—in fact  it  is  crammed  with  it.  Sample  1 0  cents. 

FOURTEENTH   TEAR! 

TREASURE-TROVE 

is  a  beautiful  illustrated  36  page  monthly,  for  young  people  and 
the  family.  $t.OO  a  year.  We  must  refer  you  to  our 


school  room  work.    Sample,  10  cents. 


THE  TEACHERS'  PROFESSION 

is  published  monthly,  SO  cents  a  year.  Its  purpose  is  to 
give  assistance  in  systematic  study  by  teachers  who  wish  to 
advance.  Doubled  in  size  this  year  and  is  entirely  different 
from  the  INSTITUTE  and  JOURNAL.  Sample  5  cents. 

DSP  Bound  volume  of  1889-90  in  paper  cover,  30  cents  post- 
paid. 

OUR  TIMES 

was  recently  started  to  give  a  resume  of  important  news  of  the 
month— not  the  murders,  the  scandals,  etc.,  but  the  news 
that  bears  on  the  progress  of  the  world.  Specially  fitted  for 
the  use  in  the  school-room,  it  is  pure,  bright,  suggestive. 
Monthly,  8  pp.  3O  cents  a  year.  Sample  copy  3  cents. 

VSampIes  of  each  paper  for  only  2O  cents. 

E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  Ed.  Pubs.,  HEW  YORK.  CHICAGO. 


SEND  ALL  ORDERS  TO 

E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO. 

BOOKS  FOR  TEACHERS." 

CLASSIFIED  LIST  UNDER  SUBJECTS. 

To  aid  purchasers  to  procure  books  best  suited  to  their  purpose,  we 
give  below  a  list  of  our  publications  under  subjects.  This  division  is 
sometimes  a  difficult  one  to  make,  so  that  we  have  in  many  cases  placed 
the  same  book  under  several  titles;  for  instance,  Currie's  Early  Educa- 
tion appears  under  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICE  OF  EDUCATION  and  also 
PRIMARY  EDUCATION. 

Our  Bv 

HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.     Retail,   Price  to   Mail 
Teachers  Extra 

Kellogg's  Life  of  Pestalozzi,      -  -paper    .15     .13  .01 

Rissehart's  History  of  Education,     -       -       -       -    el.         .25     .20  .03 

Quick's  Educational  Reformei-s,       -       -       -       -    cl.       1.00     .80  .08 

Browning's  Educational  Theories,  -    cl.        .50     .40  .05 

KINDERGARTEN  EDUCATION. 

Autobiography  of  FroebeL        -----   cl.        .50     .40  .05 

Hoffman's  Kindergarten  Gifts  -----  paper    .16     .12  .01 

METHODS  OF  TEACHING. 

Calkins' Ear  and  Voice  Training,  -    cl.        .50     .40  .05 

Dewey's  How  to  Teach  Manners,  -    cl.         .50     .40  .05 

Johnson's  Education  by  Doing,         -       -       -       -    cl.         .75     .60  .05 

Partridge's  Quincy  Methods,      -----    cl.       1.75   1.40  .13 

Shaw  and  Donnell's  School  Devices,-       -       -       -    cl.       1.25   l.OO  09 

Seeley 's  Grube  Method  of  Teaching  Arithmetic,    -    cl.      1.00     .80  .07 

Seeley's  Grube  Idea  in  Teaching  Arithmetic,  -       -    cl.        .30     .24  .03 

Woodhull's  Easy  Experiments  in  Science,      -      -    cl.        .50     .40  .05 

Gladstone's  Object  Teaching,    -  -paper     .15     .12  .01 

McMurray 's  How  to  Conduct  the  Recitation,-      -paper     .15     .12  .01 

MANUAL  TRAINING. 

Love's  Industrial  Education,     -----    cl.      1.50   1.2O  .12 

Leland's  Practical  Education,    -----   cl.      2.00  1.6O  .10 

Butler's  Argument  for  Manual  Training,        -       -paper    .15     .12  .01 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Blaildes  on  Self  Cuture,      ------    cl         .25     .20  .03 

Gardner's  Town  and  Country  School  Buildings,     -    cl.      2.50   2.OO  12 

Wilhelm's  Student's  Calendar,   -  -paper    .30     .24  .03 

Pooler's  N.  Y.  School  Law,  -       -----    cl.        .30     .24  .03 

Rissehart's  System  of  Education,      -       -       -       -    cl.        .25     .20  .03 

Lubbock's  Best  100  Books,  -      -  -paper    .20     .16  .02 

Allen's  Temperament  in  Education,        -      -       -   cl.        .50     .40  .05 

Fitch's  Improvement  in  Education,  -       -       -       -paper     .15     .12  .01 

Augsburg's  Easy  Things  to  Draw,    -  paper     .30     .24  .03 

PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Parker's  Talks  on  Teaching,      -----    cl.       1.25   1.00  .09 

"        Practical  Teacher,       -----    cl.       1=50   1.2O  .14 

Fitch's  Lectures  on  Teaching,  -----    ci.      1.25   l.OO  pd. 

Currie's  Early  Education,  ------    cl.       1.25   1  OO  .08 

Hughes'  Mistakes  in  Teaching,  -----    cl.        .50     .40  .05 

*       Securing  and  Retaining  Attention,    -      -   cl.        .50     .40  .05 

South  wick's  Quiz  manual  of  Teaching    -       -       -    ci.        .75     .60  .09 

Fitch's  Art  of  Questioning,        -  .paper     .15     .12  .01 

"          **       Securing  Attention     -       -       -       -paper     .15     .12  .01 

Quick's  How  to  Train  the  Memory,  -       -      -       -paper     .15     .12  .01 

YTonge's  Practical  Work  in  School,  -      -       -       -paper     .15     .12  .01 


SEND  ALL  ORDERS  TO 
E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO. 

PSYCHOLOGY  AND  EDUCATION. 

Welch's  Teachers' Psychology,  -      -      -       -      -   cl.  1.25   1.00  .09 

**        Talks  on  Psychology,  -----    cl.  .50     .  4O  .05 

Allen's  Mind  Studies  for  Young  Teachers,      -       -    cl.  .50     .40  .05 

Perez's  First  Three  Years  of  Childhood,  -       -       -    cl.  1.50   1.2O  .10 

Allen's  Temperament  in  Education,       -      -       -    cl.  .50      .40  .05 

PRINCIPLES  OF  EDUCATION. 

Rissehart's  Principles  of  Eduation,  -       -       -       -    cl.  .25     .20  .03 

Payne's  Lectures  on  Science  and  Art  of  Eduation,    cl.     $1.00     .80  .07 

Tate's  Philosophy  of  Education,       -       -       -       -    cl.  1.50  1.20  .09 

'Teachers' Manual  Series     -                               each,  paper  .15     .12  .01 

Hun tmgton's  Unconscious  Tuition,  -       -       -       -paper  .15     .12  .01 

Carter's  Artificial  Stupidity  in  School,     -       -      -paper  .15     .12  .01 

PRIMARY  EDUCATION. 

Augsburg's  Easy  Things  to  Draw,    -                      -paper  .30     .24  .03 

Augsburg's  Easy  Drawings  for  Geog.  Class,    -       -    cl.  .50     .40  .05 

Currie's  Early  Education,  ------    cl.  1.25    l.OO  .08 

Parker's  Talks  on  Teaching,      -----    cl.  1.25    l.OO  .09 

Partridge's  Quincy  Methods,     -----    cl.  1.75   1.40  .13 

Perez's  First  Three  Years  of  Childhood,  -      -       -    cl.  1.50   1.2O  .01 

Calkins'  Ear  and  Voice  Training                              -    cl.  .50     .40  .05 

Gladstone's  Object  Teaching,    -                              -paper  .15     .12  .01 

Johnsou's  Education  by  Doing,-       -       -       -       -    cl.  .75     .60  .05 

Seeley's  Grube  Method  of  Teaching  Arithmetic,    -    cl.  1.00     .80  .07 

Seeley's  Grube  Idea  in  Primary  Arithmetic,  -       -    cl.  .30     .32  .03 

QUESTION  BOOKS  FOB  TEACHERS. 

Shaw's  National  Question  Book,        -  1 75  pd. 

N.  Y.  State  Examination  Questions,-       -       -       -    cl.  1.00     .80  .08 

Analytical  Question  Series.    Geography,         -       -    cl.  .50     .40  .05 
"         U.  S.  History  Series,  -    cL  .50     .40  .05 
u         Grammar,  -       -      -    cl.  .50     .40  .05 
Southwick's  Quiz  Manual  of  the  Theory  and  Prac- 
tice of  Teaching,      -------    cl.  .75     .60    .0 

SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT. 

Kellogg's  School  Management,  -      -      -      -       -   cl.  .75     .60  .ar> 

Hughes' How  to  Keep  Order,    -                             -paper  .15     .12  .01 

Sidgwick's  Stimulus  in  School,  -                              -paper  .15     .13  .01 

SCHOOL  HYGIENE. 

GrofTs School  Hygiene,      -                                    -paper  .15     .12  .01 

SCHOOL  APPARATUS. 
*  Standard  "  Manikin.    (Sold  by  subscription.) 

"  Man  Wonderful "  Manikin,                             -      -  5.00  pd. 
Standard  Blackboard  Stencils,  500  different  nos., 

from  5  to  50  cents  each.    Send  for  special  list. 

"  Unique  "  Pencil  Sharpener,     -----  1.50  . 10 

Standard  Physician's  Manikin.    (Sold  by  subscrip- 

SINGING  AND  DIALOGUE  BOOKS. 

Southwick's  Handy  Helps,  -       -----    cl.  1.00     .80  .08 

Song  Treasures,    -                                     -       -       -paper  .15     .12  .02 

Reception  Day  Series,  (6  Nos.)    -                      each,  paper  .30     .24  .03 

^"  64-page  descriptive  catalogue  of  these  books  free  to  any  address. 
Large  128-page  descriptive  catalogue  of  all  best  educational  books  pub- 
lished, with  prices  and  special  rates  to  teachers,  6  cents. 


SEND  ALL  ORDERS  TO 

U  E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO. 

Fitch's  Lectures  on  Teaching. 

Lectures  on  Teaching.  By  J.  G.  FITCH,  M.A.,  one  of  Her 
Majesty's  Inspectors  of  Schools.  England.  Cloth,  16mo, 
395pp.  Price,  $1.25  ;  toteachers,  $1.00  ;  by  mail,  postpaid. 

Mr.  Fitch  takes  as  his  topic  the  application  of  principles  to 
the  art  of  teaching  in  schools.  Here  are  no-  vague  and  gen- 
eral propositions,  but  on  every  page  we  find  the  problems  of 
the  school-room  discussed  with  definiteness  of  mental  grip. 
No  one  who  has  read  a  single  lecture  by  this  eminent  man 
but  will  desire  to  read  another.  The  book  is  full  of  sugges- 
tions that  lead  to  increased  power. 

1.  These  lectures  are  highly  prized  in  England. 

2.  There  is  a  valuable  preface  by  Thos.  Hunter,  President 
of  N.  Y.  City  Normal  College. 

3.  The  volume  has  been  at  once  adopted  by  several  State 
Reading  Circles. 

EXTRACT  FROM  AMERICAN  PREFACE. 

**  Teachers  everywhere  among  English-speaking  people  have  hailed 
Mr.  Fitch's  work  as  an  invaluable  aid  for  almost  every  kind  of  instruc- 
tion and  school  organization.  It  combines  the  theoretical  and  the  prac- 
tical ;  it  is  based  on  psychology ;  it  gives  admirable  advice  on  every- 
thing connected  with  teaching— from  the  furnishing  of  a  schoo) -room 
to  the  preparation  of  questions  for  examination.  Its  style  is  singularly 
clear,  vigorous  and  harmonious." 

Chicago  Intelligence.— "  All  of  its  discussions  are  based  on  sound 
psychological  principles  and  give  admirable  advice." 

Virginia  Educational  Journal.— "  He  tells  what  he  thinks  so  as  to 
be  helpful  to  all  who  are  striving  to  improve." 

Lynn  Evening  Item.—"  He  gives  admirable  advice." 

Philadelphia  Beeord.— "  It  is  not  easy  to  imagine  a  more  useful  vol- 
ume." 

Wilmington  Every  Evening.—"  The  teacher  will  find  in  it  a  wealth 
of  help  and  suggestion." 

Brooklyn  Journal.—"  His  conception  of  the  teacher  is  a  worthy  idea: 
for  all  to  bear  in  mind." 

New  England  Journal  of  Education :  "  This  is  eminently  the  work  oi 
a  man  of  wisdom  and  experience.  He  takes  a  broad  and  comprehensive 
view  of  the  work  of  the  teacher,  and  his  suggestions  on  all  topics  are 
worthy  of  the  most  careful  consideration." 

Brooklyn  Eagle*  "An  invaluable  aid  for  almost  every  kind  of  in- 
struction and  school  organization.  It  combines  the  theoretical  and  the 
practical ;  it  is  based  on  psychology ;  it  gives  admirable  advice  on  every- 
thing connected  with  teaching,  from  the  furnishing  of  a  school-room  to 
the  preparation  of  questions  for  examination." 

Toledo  Blade  •  "  It  is  safe  to  say,  no  teacher  can  lay  claim  to  being 
well  informed  who  has  not  read  this  admirable  work.  Its  appreciation 
is  shown  by  its  adoption  by  seveni!  State  Teachers'  Reading  Circles,  as 
a  work  to  be  thoroughly  read  by  its  members." 


gfiND  ALL  ORDERS  tO 

E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO. 


Payne's   Lectures  on   the  Science   and 

ART  OF  EDUCATION.  Reading  Circle  Edition.  By  JOSEPH 
PAYNE,  the  first  Professor  of  the  Science  and  Art  of  Edu- 
cation in  the  College  of  Preceptors,  London,  England. 
With  portrait.  16mo,  350  pp.,  English  cloth,  with  gold 
back  stamp.  Price,  $1.00  ;  to  teachers,  80  cents  ;  by  mail, 
7  cents  extra.  Elegant  new  edition  from  new  plates. 

Teachers  who  are  seeking  tx» 
know  the  principles  of  education 
will  find  them  clearly  set  forth  in 
this  volume.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  principles  are  the  basis 
upon  which  all  methods  of  teach- 
ing must  be  founded.  So  valu- 
able is  this  book  that  if  a  teacher 
were  to  decide  to  own  but  three 
works  on  education,  this  would 
be  one  of  them.  This  edition 
contains  all  of  Mr.  Payne's  writ- 
ings that  are  in  any  other  Ameri- 
can abridged  edition,  and  is  tJie 
only  one  with  his  portrait.  It  is 
far  superior  to  any  other  edition 
published. 
JOSEPH  PAYNE. 

WHY  THIS  EDITION  IS  THE  BEST. 
(1.)  The  side-titles.  These  give  the  contents  of  the  page. 
(2.)  The  analysis  of  each  lecture,  with  reference  to  the  educa- 
tional points  in  it.  (3.)  The  general  analysis  pointing  out  the 
three  great  principles  found  at  the  beginning.  (4.)  The  index, 
where,  under  such  heads  as  Teaching,  Education,  The  Child, 
the  important  utterances  of  Mr.  Payne  are  set  forth.  (5.) 
Its  handy  shape,  large  type,  fine  paper,  and  press-work  and 
tasteful  binding.  All  of  these  features  make  this  a  most  val- 
uable book.  To  obtain  all  these  features  in  one  edition,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  get  out  this  new  edition. 

Ohio  Educational  Monthly.— "It  does  not  deal  with  shadowy  tneories; 
it  is  intensely  practical." 

Philadelphia  Educational  News.—"  Ought  to  be  in  library  of  every 
progressive  teacher." 

Educational  Courant.— "  To  know  how  to  teach,  more  if  needed  than 
a  knowledge  of  the  brancnos  taught.    This  is  especially  valuable." 

Pennsylvania  Journal  of  Education.— "Will  be  of  practical  value  tu 
Normal  Schools  and  Institute 


SEND  ALL  ORDEBS  TO 

44     E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO. 

Tates  ^Philosophy  of  Education. 

The  Philosophy  of  Education.  By  T.  TATE.  Revised  and 
Annotated  by  E.  E.  SHEIB,  Ph.D.,  Principal  of  the  Louis- 
iana State  Normal  School.  Unique  cloth  binding,  laid 
paper,  331  pp.  Price,  $1.50 ;  to  teachers,  $1.20  ;  by  mail,  7 
cents  extra. 

There  are  few  books  that  deal  with  the  Science  of  Educa- 
tion. This  volume  is  the  work  of  a  man  who  said  there  were 
great  principles  at  the  bottom  of  the  work  of  the  despised 
schoolmaster.  It  has  set  many  a  teacher  to  thinking,  and  in 
its  new  form  will  set  many  more. 

Our  edition  will  be  found  far  superior  to  any  ether  in  every 
respect.  The  annotations  of  Mr.  Sheib  are  invaluable.  The 
more  important  part  of  the  book  are  emphasized  by  leading 
the  type.  The  type  is  clear,  the  size  convenient,  and  print- 
ing, paper,  and  binding  are  most  excellent. 

Mr.  Philbrickso  long  superintendent  of  the  Boston  schools  hold  this 
work  in  high  esteem. 

Col.  F.  W.  Parker  strongly  recommends  it. 

Jos.  MacAlister,  Supt.  Public  Schools,  Philadelphia,  says :— "  It  is  one 
of  the  first  books  which  a  teacher  deserves  of  understanding  the  scien- 
tific principles  on  which  his  work  rests  should  study." 

S.  A.  Ellis.  Supt.  of  Schools,  Rochester  N.  Y.  says :— "  As  a  pointed  and 
Judicious  statement  of  principles  it  has  no  superior." 

Thos,  M.  Balliet,  Supt.  of  Schools*  Reading.  Pa.,  says :— "  The  work 
is  a  classic  on  Education." 

J.  M.  Greenwood,  Supt.  Schools,  Kansas  City,  says :—"  I  wish  every 
teacher  of  our  country  owned  a  copy  and  would  read  it  carefully  and 
thoughtfully." 

Prest.  E.  A.  Sheldon,  Oswego  Normal  Schools,  says :— "  For  more 
than  20  years  it  has  been  our  text-book  in  this  subject  and  I  know  of  no 
other  book  so  good  for  the  purpose." 

Bridgeport  Standard.—"  A  new  generation  of  thinkers  will  welcome 
it;  it  has  long  held  the  first  place  in  the  field  of  labor  which  it  illus- 


S.  W»  Journal  of  Education.— "It  deals  with  fundamental  principles 
and  shows  how  the  best  educational  practice  comes  from  them." 

The  Interior.—"  The  book  has  long  been  held  in  high  esteem  by 
thoughtful  teachers." 

Popular  Educator.— "  Has  long  held  a  high  place  among  educational 
works." 

Illinois  School  Journal.— "It  abounds  in  good  things." 

Philadelphia  Record.— "  Has  been  ranked  among  educational  classics 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century." 

Educational  News.—"  Tate  was  the  first  to  give  us  the  maxims  from 
the  *  known  to  the  unknown '  wW  " 


SEND  ALL.  ORDEIU8  TO 

E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO.     27 


Parkers  Talks  on  Teaching. 

Notes  of  "lalkson  Teaching"  given  by  COL.  FRANCIS  W« 
PARKER  (formerly  Superintendent,  of  schools  of  Quincy, 
Mass.),  before  the  Martha's  Vineyard  Institute,  Summer 
of  1882.    Reported  by  LELIA  E.  PATRTOGE.    Square  16mo, 
5x6  1-2  inches,  192  pp.,  laid  paper,  English  cloth.    Price, 
$1.25  ;  to  teachers,  $1.00  ;  by  mail,  9  cents  extra. 
The  methods  of  teaching  employed  in  the  schools  of  Quincy, 
Mass. ,  were  seen  to  be  the  methods  of  nature.    As  they  were 
copied  and  explained,  they  awoke  a  great  desire  on  the  part 
of  those  who  could  not  visit  the  schools  to  know  the  underly- 
ing principles.    In  other  words,  Colonel  Parker  was  asked  to 
explain  why  he  had  his  teachers  teach  thus.    In  the  summer 
of  1882,  in  response  to  requests,  Colonel  Parker  gave  a  course 
of  lectures  before  the  Martha's  Vineyard  Institute,  and  these 
were  reported  by  Miss  Patridge,  and  published  in  this  book. 

The  book  became  famous  ; 
more  copies  were  sold  of  it  in 
the  same  time  than  of  any 
other  educational  book  what- 
ever. The  daily  papers,  which 
usually  pass  by  such  books 
with  a  mere  mention,  devoted 
columns  to  reviews  of  it. 

The  following  points  will 
show  why  the  teacher  will 
want  this  book. 

1.  It  explains   the   "  New 
Methods."     There  is  a  wide 
gulf  between  the  new  and  the 
old  education.     Even   school 
boards  understand  this. 

2.  It  gives  the  underlying 
principles  of  education.  For  it 

must  be  remembered  that  Col.  Parker  is  not  expounding  his 
methods,  but  the  methods  of  nature, 

3.  It  gives  the  ideas  of  a  man  who  is  evidently  an  "  educa- 
tional genius,"  a  man  born  to  understand  and  expound  educa- 
tion.   We  have  few  such  ;  they  are  worth  everything  to  the 
human  race. 

4.  It  gives  a  biography  of  Col.  Parker.    This  will  help  th« 
teacher  of  education  to  comprehend  the  man  and  his  motives. 

6.  It  has  been  adopted  hy  nearlv  every  State  Reading  Circle, 


SEND  ALL  ORDERS  TO 

30     E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO. 

'Patridges  " Quincy  {Methods," 

The  "  Quincy  Methods,"  illustrated  ;  Pen  photographs  from 
the  Quincy  schools.  By  LELJA  E.  PATRIDGE.  Illustrated 
with  a  number  of  engravings,  and  two  colored  plates. 
Blue  cloth,  gilt,  ISino,  686  pp.  Price,  $1.75  ;  to  teachers, 
$1.40  ;  by  mail,  13  cents  extra. 

When  the  schools  of  Quincy,  Mass.,  became  so  famous 
under  the  superintendence  of  Col.  Francis  W.  Parker,  thou- 
sands of  teachers  visited  them.  Quincy  became  a  sort  of 
"  educational  Mecca,"  to  the  disgust  of  the  routinists,  whose 
schools  were  passed  by.  Those  who  went  to  study  the 
methods  pursued  there  were  called  on  to  tell  what  they  had 
seen.  Miss  Patridge  was  one  of  those1  who  visited  the  schools 
of  Quincy ;  in  the  Pennsylvania  Institutes  (many  of  which 
she  conducted),  she  found  the  teachers  were  never  tired  of 
being  told  how  things  were  done  in  Quincy.  She  revisited 
the  schools  several  tunes,  and  wrote  down  what  she  saw  ;  then 
the  book  was  made. 

1.  This  book  presents  the  actual  practice  in  the  schools  of 
Quincy.    It  is  composed  of  "  pen  photographs." 

2.  It  gives  abundant  reasons  for  the  great  stir  produced  by 
the  two  words  "  Quincy  Methods."    There  are  reasons  for  the 
discussion  that  has  been  going  on  among  the  teachers  of  late 
years. 

3.  It  gives  an  insight  to  principles  underlying  real  educa- 
tion as  distinguished  from  book  learning. 

4.  It  shows  the  teacher  not  only  what  to  do,  but  gives  the 
way  in  which  to  do  it. 

5.  It  impresses  one  with  the  spirit  of  the  Quincy  schools. 

6.  It  shows  the  teacher  how  to  create  an  atmosphere  of  hap« 
piness,  of  busy  work,  and  of  progress. 

7.  It  shows  the  teacher  how  not  to  waste  her  time  in  worry 
ing  over  disorder. 

8.  It  tells  how  to  treat  pupils  with  courtesy,  and  get  cour- 
tesy back  again. 

9.  It  presents  four  years  of  work,  considering  Number, 
Color,   Direction,    Dimension,  Botany,  Minerals,  Form,  Lan- 
guage,   Writing,  Pictures,    Modelling,    Drawing,    Singing, 
Geography,  Zoology,  etc. ,  etc. 

10.  There  are  686  pages;  a  large  book  devoted  to  the  realities 
of  school  Hfe,  in  realistic  descriptive  language.    It  is  plain, 
real,  not  abstruse  and  uninteresting. 

11.  It  gives  an  insight  into  real  education,  the  education 
urged  by  Pestalozzi,  FrcebeJ«  Maun« JPage,  .Parker,  etc. 


SEND  ALL  ORDERS  TO 

6     E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO. 

Aliens  Mind  Studies  for  Young  Teach- 

ER8.  By  JEROME  ALLEN,  Ph.D.,  Associate  Editor  of  the 
SCHOOL  JOURNAL,  Prof,  of  Pedagogy,  Univ.  of  City  of 
N.  Y.  16mo,  large,  clear  type,  138  pp.  Cloth,  50  cents ;  to 
teachers,  40  cents  ;  by  mail,  5  cents  extra. 

There  are  many  teachers  who 
know  little  about  psychology, 
and  who  desire  to  be  better  in- 
formed  concerning   its   princi- 
ples, especially  its  relation  to  the 
work  of  teaching.     For  the  aid 
of  such,  this  book  has  been  pre- 
pared.    But  it  is  not  a  psychol- 
ogy—only an  introduction  to  it, 
aiming    to    give    some    funda- 
mental principles,  together  with 
something  concerning  the  phi- 
losophy of  education.    Its  meth- 
;  od  is  subjective  rather  than  ob- 
!  jective,  leading  the  student  to 
watch    mental    processes,    and 
draw  his  own  conclusions.     It 
is  written  in  language  easy  to 
be  comprehended,  and  has  many 
JEROME  ALLEN,  Ph.D.  Associate  Editor  Poetical   illustrations.      It   will 
of  the  Journal  and  Institute.        aid  the  teacher  in  his  daily  work 
in  dealing  with  mental  facts  and  states. 

To  most  teachers  psychology  seems  to  be  dry.  This  book  shows 
how  it  may  become  the  most  interesting  of  all  studies.  It  also 
shows  how  to  begin  the  knowledge  of  self.  "  We  cannot  know 
in  others  what  we  do  not  first  know  in  ourselves."  This  is  the 
key-note  of  this  book.  Students  of  elementary  psychology  will 
appreciate  this  feature  of  "  Mind  Studies." 
ITS  CONTENTS. 

CHAP. 

I.  How  to  Study  Mind. 
II.  Some  Facts  in  Mind  Growth. 

III.  Development. 

IV.  Mind  Incentives. 

V.  A  few  Fundamental  Principles 

Settled. 

VI.  Temperaments. 
»VH.  Training  of  the  Senses. 
VIII.  Attention. 
IX.  Perception. 
X.  Abstraction. 

XI.  Faculties     used     in    Abstract 
Thinking. 


XII.  From  the  Subjectire  to  the 
Conceptive. 

XIII.  The  Will. 

XIV.  Diseases  of  the  Will. 
XV.  Kinds  of  Memory. 

,  XVI.  The  Sensibilities. 
XVII.  Relation  of  the  Sensibilities 

to  the  Will. 

XVIII.  Training  of  the  Sensibilities. 
XIX.  Relation  of  the  Sensibilities 

to  Morality. 
XX.  The  Imagination; 
XXI.  Imagination  in  its  Maturity. 
XXII.  Education  of  the  Moral  Sense. 


SEND  ALL,  ORDERS  TO 

18   E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  (70.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO. 

Hughes'  {Mistakes  in  Teaching. 

BY  JAMES  J.  HUGHES,  Inspector  of  Schools,  Toronto,  Canada. 
Cloth,  16mo,  115  pp.  Price,  50  cents;  to  teachers,  40  cents; 
by  mail,  5  cents  extra. 

Thousands  of  copies  of  the  old 
edition  have  been  sold.     The  new 
edition  is  worth  double  the  old; 
the  material  has  been   increased, 
restated,    and    greatly    improved. 
Two  new  and  important  Chapters 
have  been  added  on  "Mistakes  in 
Aims,"  and   "Mistakes  in  Moral 
Training."    Mr.  Hughes  says  in  his 
preface:  "  In  issuing  a  revised  edi- 
tion of  this  book,  it  seems  titling  to 
acknowledge  gratefully  the  hearty 
appreciation  that  has  been  accorded 
it  by  American  teachers.     Realiz- 
ing as  I  do  that  its  very  large  sale 
L  indicates  that  it  has  been  of  service 
i  to  many  of  my  fellow-teachers,  I 
^  have  recognized  the  duty  of  enlarg- 
ing and  revising  it  so  as  to  make  it 
still  more  helpful    in    preventing 
JAMES  L.  HUGHES,  Inspector  of  the  common  mistakes  in  teaching 
Schools,  Toronto,  Canada.         an(j  training. " 

This  is  one  of  the  six  books  recommended  by  the  N.  Y.  State 
Department  to  teachers  preparing  for  examination  for  State  cer^ 
tificates. 

CAUTION. 

Our  new  AUTHORIZED  COPYRIGHT  EDITION,  entirely  rewritten  by 
the  author,  is  the  only  one  to  buy.  It  is  beautifully  printed  and 
handsomely  bound.  Get  no  other. 

CONTENTS  OF  OUR  NEW  EDITION. 
CHAP.     I.    7  Mistakes  in  Aim. 
CHAP.    II.  21  Mistakes  in  School  Management. 
CHAP.  III.  24  Mistakes  in  Discipline. 

CHAP.  IV.  27  Mistakes  in  Method.  * 

CHAP.    V.  13  Mistakes  in  Moral  Training. 
Jg|P  Chaps.  L  and  V.  are  entirely  new. 


SEND  ALL  ORDERS  TO 

E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK  &  CHICAGO.   33 

Reception  Day.    6 

A  collection  of  fresh  and  original  dialogues,  recitations,  decla- 
mations, and  short  pieces  for  practical  use  in   Public  and 
Private  Schools.     Bound  in  handsome  new  paper  cover,  160 
pages  each,  printed  on  laid  '.paper.     Price,  30  cents  each;  IA 
teacJiers,  24  cents;  by  mail,  3  cents  extra. 
The  exercises  in  these  books  bear  upon  education;  have  a  rela- 
tion to  the  school-room. 

1.  The  dialogues,  recitations,  and  declamations  gathered  in 
this  volume  being  fresh,  short, 
]  and  easy  to  be  comprehended,  are 
j  well  fitted  for  the  average  scholars 
of  our  schools. 

2.  They  have  mainly  been  used 
by   teachers   for   actual    schooj 
exercises. 

3.  They  cover  a  different  ground 
from  the  speeches  of  Demosthenes 
and  Cicero — which  are  unfitted 
for.  boys  of   twelve   to   sixteen 
years  of  age. 

4.  They  have  some  practical  in- 
terest for  those  who  use  them. 

5.  There  is  not  a  vicious  sen- 
tence uttered.     In  some  dialogue 
books  profanity  is  found,  or  dis- 
obedience to  parents  encouraged, 
or  lying  laughed  at.     Let  teachers, 
look  out  for  this. 

6.  There  is  something  for  the 
youngest  pupils. 

7.  "Memorial  Day  Exercises"  for  Biyant,  Garfield,  Lincoln, 
etc.,  will  be  found. 

8.  Several  Tree  Planting  exercises  are  included. 

9.  The  exercises  have  relation  to  the  school-room,  and  bear 
upon  education. 

10.  An  important  point  is  the  freshness  of  these  pieces.    Most 
of  them  were  written  expressly  for  this  collection,  and  can  be 
found  nowhere  else. 

Boston  Journal  of  Education.— "  It  is  of  practical  value." 
Detroit  Free  Press.—"  Suitable  for  public  and  private  schools." 
Western  Ed.  Journal.-"  A  series  of  very  good  selections." 


34: 


SEND  ALL  ORDERS  TO 

E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO.,  NEW  YOEK  &  CHICAGO. 


WHAT  EACH   NUMBER  CONTAINS. 


No.  1 

No.  4  Contains 

Is  a  specially  fine  number.    One  dia- 
logue in  it,  called  "Work  Conquers," 
for  11  girls  and  6  boys,  has  been  given 
hundreds  of  times,  and  is  alone  worth 

Campbell  Memorial  Day. 
Longfellow         " 
Michael  Angelo  "         " 
Shakespeare 

the  price  of  the  book.    Then  there 
are  21  other  dialogues. 
29  Recitations. 

Washington       " 
Christmas  Exercise. 
Arbor  Day         " 

14  Declamations. 
17  Pieces  for  the  Primary  Class. 

New  Planting   " 
Thanksgiving   " 
Value  of  Knowledge  Exercise. 

No.  2  Contains 

Also  8  other  Dialogues. 
21  Recitations. 

29  Recitations. 

23  Declamations. 

12  Declamations. 

No.  5  Contains 

17  Dialogues. 
24  Pieces  for  the  Primary  Class. 
And  for  Class  Exercise  as  follows: 
The  Bird's  Party. 

Browning  Memorial  Day. 
Autumn  Exercise. 
Bryant  Memorial  Day. 
New  Planting  Exercise. 

Indian  Names. 

Christmas  Exercise. 

Valedictory. 
Washington's  Birthday. 
Garfield  Memorial  Day. 

A  Concert  Exercise. 
24  Other  Dialogues. 
Ifi  Declamations,  and 

Grant             "            " 
Whittier        "           " 

36  Recitations. 

Sigourney      "           " 

No.  6  Contains 

Spring;   a  flower  exercise  for  ve 

No.  3  Contains 

young  pupils. 

Emerson  Memorial  Day. 

Fewer  of  the  longer  pieces  and  more 

New  Year's  Day  Exercise. 

of  the  shorter,  as  follows  : 

Holmes'  Memorial  Day. 

18  Declamations. 

Fourth  of  July  Exercise. 

21  Recitations. 

Shakespeare  Memorial  Day. 

22  Dialogues. 
24  Pieces  for  the  Primary  Class. 

Washington's  Birthday  Exercise. 
Also  6  other  Dialogues. 

A  Christmas  Exercise. 

6  Declamations. 

Opening  Ptece,  and 
An  Historical  Celebration. 

41  Recitations. 
15  Recitations  for  the  Primary  Clas 

And  4  Songs. 

Our  RECEPTION  DAY  Series  is  not  sold  largely  by  bookseller 
who,  if  they  do  not  keep  it,  try  to  have  you  buy  somethin  el 
similar,  but  not  so  good.  Therefore  send  direct  to  the  publishei 
by  mail,  the  price  as  above,  in  stamps  or  postal  notes,  and  yoi 
order  will  be  filled  at  once.  Discount  for  quantities. 

SPECIAL  OFFER. 

If  ordered  at  one  time,  we  will  send  postpaid  the  entii 
6  Nos.  for  $1.40.  Note  the  reduction. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY, 
BERKELEY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
50c  per  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,  increasing 
to  $1'.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


27  1922 


AUQ  j, 


MAY  2 11986 


20m-l,'22 


Yb  U4VJU 

GENERAL  LIBRARY  -  U.C.  BERKELEY 


